


Shut Up and Dance With Me

by ViolaQuartermaine



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ballroom Dancing, Dirty Talk, Frottage, M/M, Oral Sex, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:46:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 42,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5801431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViolaQuartermaine/pseuds/ViolaQuartermaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared is an actor who has found himself in a creative rut. At the urging of his agent he decides to compete on Celebrity Ballroom, a program that pairs celebrities with professional dancers to perform on live television each week. In a new twist for the season Jared is chosen to be part of the first same-sex couple in the show's history. He is paired with pro dancer Jensen Ackles and the two form an instant connection. Jensen is conflicted about his attraction to his straight partner, but decides he will do whatever it takes to bring home the trophy for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Week One- Cha Cha Cha

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my second attempt at a multi chapter fic, I got such good feedback on my first one that I decided to try to do another one. I've written a good chunk of it but it is still in progress. The story was inspired by my love for J2 of course and my love for Dancing With the Stars. I was watching this last season and thinking "I wonder if they would ever have two dudes compete together" and this is what popped into my head. The title of course is a song from Walk the Moon.
> 
> I don't own J2, or any of these characters, or any of the songs mentioned in this story. I'm just playing with them for my own amusement, and hopefully the amusement of some others.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

_**Week One- Cha Cha Cha** _

 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Chad asked.

  
Jared was driving with his friend on speakerphone on the way to the Celebrity Ballroom studio. His agent had approached him with the idea of going on the show a few weeks before, and at first he was hesitant, but when he brought it up as a joke to his mother, she'd insisted that he do the show. He had been in a little bit of standstill both personally and professionally. Since being on a few prime-time soaps early on in his career, he'd been typecast and was trying hard to break out of that character. He'd also done some B-List horror movies, but he really wanted to move forward in some roles he could really connect with and that would test his acting range. He was hoping to use the experience on the show to broaden his horizons and it didn't hurt that his momma was a huge fan.

  
"It'll be fun. My agent said he thought it would be good press. It'll get people to see that I'm not taking myself too seriously."

  
"Yeah I get that but they want you to partner with a dude, dude!" Chad exclaimed.

  
"It's no big deal Chad, honestly it's kind of cool to be asked. They've never done that before."

  
"Yeah because it's fucking weird."

  
"It'll be fine. I think I need something like this to get out of my slump," Jared replied.

  
"Maybe. It's just too bad you're not gonna be paired with one of those hottie hot hots. Like that Danielle chick. She's smoking."

  
Jared sighed. "It's Danneel I think."

  
"Yeah whatever. She's fucking hot. I hope you get paired with that Misha guy and he makes you wear sequins every week."

  
"Thanks Chad. I gotta go, I just got to the studio and I have to do an interview before I meet my partner."

  
"Good luck man. Don't fall in love!" Chad said, blowing him a kiss through the phone.

  
Jared shook his head as the call disconnected. He pulled his car into the lot and parked next to the rehearsal studio he'd be practicing in. He got out and walked over to the camera crew that was waiting there, giving them a small wave.

  
"Hi there."

  
"Hi Jared, are you excited to meet your partner?" the camera man asked.

  
"Yeah I'm ready to get started and see what I'm capable of," Jared replied.

  
"Are you nervous that you're going to be the first same-sex couple on the show?"

  
"I'm a little scared yeah. It's pretty high expectations. But I'm up for the challenge."

  
"Have you watched the show before?"

  
"Yeah my momma is a fan. She's really excited to watch me," Jared said and the whole crew laughed.

  
"Who are you hoping your partner is?"

  
" I don't have a preference really. All the dancers I've seen seem great, so I'll be happy with whoever. I just hope whoever he is, he's really patient and doesn't treat me like a girl."

  
"Well we'll have to see about that. If you're ready, let's go inside and meet your partner."

  
Jared was a lot more nervous than he was letting on. He was trying to play it cool, but he could feel the sweat dripping down his back, and he knew his palms were probably clammy. He quickly rubbed them on his shirt before opening the door. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside. He saw his partner standing just in front of the doorway. He was a little shorter than him, with blondish hair and striking green eyes that were focused on him. He'd seen the guy before when his mom would force him to watch, but he couldn't remember his name. _Jason or something, Justin maybe? Am I supposed to know?_

  
"Hey! Jared Padalecki right? I'm Jensen Ackles," the guy said reaching out to shake his hand.

  
"Hey. Nice to meet you."

  
"Yeah you too. Are you excited to get to work?"

  
Jared ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah I'm just..."

  
"You're nervous?" Jensen asked.

  
"I'm not nervous, it's more uneasy. I just...you're not going to make me the girl are you?"

  
Jensen laughed. "No. Well not exactly. The judges are are going to be looking to see how you improve as a dancer. I thought the best way to do that would be to work with you on both leading in a traditional male role, and also as a female if you want to put it that way. There are also going be times where there's no distinction on male versus female. I think that will give you a competitive edge over the other celebrities, but we'll take things as they come. It's only going to work if you're comfortable with this so I'll do whatever I can to help you ok?"

  
"Ok."

  
"You don't seem convinced," Jensen said eyeing him suspiciously.

  
"I've never danced before. I'm not really sure what to expect."

  
"Well lucky for you, I've done a little dancing. This is my eighth season as a pro."

  
"Have you won before?" Jared asked.

  
"Nope. But eight is my lucky number," Jensen said with a grin. "Do you want to get started right away or do you want to talk a little first? I want to make sure we have enough rehearsal time."

  
"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

  
"Let's just loosen up first. You're in good shape, so that's a plus, but I'm going to warn you, ballroom dancing is hard work. Your muscles will only get you so far."

  
Jared followed Jensen as he walked to the middle of the room and sat down. When he began leaning forward and stretching out his legs, Jared tried to follow suit. He watched as Jensen stretched forward and his shirt rode up a little, exposing his back. He tried not to stare, but it was right there, and the guy had these cute little freckles on his back.

  
Jensen looked up and him and Jared blushed, embarrassed that the other man caught him staring. "You're uh, pretty flexible."

  
"This is easy. Believe me, before we're done I'm going to have you bent in positions you'd never thought possible," Jensen said with a wink.

  
The innuendo wasn't lost on Jared, but he wasn't sure whether it was a serious comment or just a joke for the cameras. Jensen didn't come off as gay, but he knew it was stupid to assume all homosexual men wore feather boas and drank chocolate martinis. Not that it mattered to him either way of course, Jared didn't have a problem with his partner being gay, if he was.

  
"You don't seem ready to get into this yet," Jensen said, standing up. "Let's go get a beer."

  
"What? It's barely noon," Jared pointed out.

  
"Ok, so we'll eat lunch too. Come on."

  
Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in a booth in a small restaurant near the studio. Jensen had insisted that they get these pretzel melt sandwiches that paired well with one of the beers they stocked from a local brewery. As Jared bit into the sandwich, he knew he was right to trust Jensen's taste.

  
"I didn't know if I could trust you to not make me look like a fool, but if all your suggestions are as good as this sandwich, I think I'll be safe."

  
"I'm glad to hear you're coming around. You'll do a whole lot better in the competition if we have a strong partnership."

  
"I wanna do whatever I have to to win this thing. I'm really committed to it," Jared said seriously.

  
"Well having a good attitude is a great start. So is your girlfriend excited that you're going to be learning to dance?" Jensen asked.

  
"No girlfriend. Not right now anyway. I've had a stretch of relationships that didn't exactly end well, so I've been out of the dating pool for a little while. It's probably for the best, I'd like to get my career back on track. What about you? Do you have a girlfriend?" Jared asked trying to sound casual.

  
"Me? No, no girlfriend. No boyfriend either," Jensen laughed.

  
"You're gay?"

  
"Yeah. I mean on occasion there will be a woman who I'm attracted to, but if I'm completely honest, it's never quite the same as it is with men." Jensen paused and took a sip of his beer. He looked back at Jared. "Does it bother you?"

  
"That you're gay? No. You just...you don't come off as gay I guess," Jared replied looking sheepish.

  
Jensen smiled. "Well I can be plenty flamboyant at times I assure you. But don't worry, I promise we will protect your masculinity."

  
Jensen held his beer up in a toast to Jared's masculinity, and Jared tapped his bottle against it. They finished the rest of their meal, laughing and getting to know one another. Jensen insisted on paying the check, telling Jared it was his way of welcoming him to Celebrity Ballroom.

  
"Are you too full to dance?" Jensen asked when they arrived back at the studio.

  
"I am a little full," Jared admitted. "But give me like an hour and I'll be good to go. Why don't you tell me about the dance we're doing."

  
"Alright. Our first dance is the Cha Cha Cha. It's a good beginner dance, it's not the most elaborate, and I think it's easy for someone to pick up. It's the first dance for a lot of people on the show."

  
"What song are we dancing to?" Jared asked.

  
"Moves Like Jagger," Jensen said. "I hope it's ok. I'd like to discuss song choices with you, but I had to have this one submitted already to make sure we got the rights."

  
"It's fine. I like the song. I like Maroon 5, Adam is my favorite coach on The Voice." Jared looked at the smile on Jensen's face. "Hey don't judge me for my taste in TV."

  
"I'm not, it's just...I'm Team Blake all the way."

  
"I can deal with that. I dig his country spirit, I grew up in Texas."

  
"You did? Me too. I think that's why I like him. There's some country that's too country for me I guess, but I like the simplicity and homey feeling of it. Living in LA I kind of miss that. Things can be so impersonal here you know?"

  
Jared looked into Jensen's eyes. He'd just met this guy and he'd basically summed up everything he'd been feeling for the past few years. Feeling lonely in a town full of people and just missing the feeling of calling someplace home.

  
"Yeah I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I want to just go back to Texas and forget I ever wanted to be an actor. Or at least move out of Hollywood." Jared started to feel like maybe he had overshared and quickly looked away. "Anyway, I can feel myself starting to digest, so show me some Cha Cha."

 

A week later they arrived at the dress rehearsal before the live performance of the show. They walked in to the ballroom and were directed to stand off to the side until their names were called by the show's main host, Richard Speight.

  
"Good morning everyone, I'm the host of Celebrity Ballroom, Richard Speight Jr. This is my cohost Felicia Day."

  
"Good morning, and welcome to this season of Celebrity Ballroom!" The young woman next to him said.

  
"We're going to start this rehearsal by introducing every one, then we will run through all of the dances doing your blocking for lighting, and getting any sound or music cues down. Let's get started by introducing our judges," Richard said, poinitng at a table next to the dance floor. "Starting with our head judge, Mark Sheppard." A serious looking British man gave a slight wave. "To his left we have former champion Alaina Huffman." The redhead sitting behind the table smiled and waved. "And last but not least, choreographer, and recent Emmy nominee, Sebastian Roche." The blonde man wearing a very deeply cut v-neck shirt stood up behind the table and waved.  
"And now moving on to our celebrities. When I call your name please step out onto the floor. "First up Rob Benedict and his partner Genevieve Cortese. DJ Qualls and Katie Cassidy. Kim Rhodes and her partner Misha Collins. Jason Manns and Danneel Harris, Rachel Miner and Matt Cohen. Next we have Mark Pellegrino and his partner, reigning champ Sandy McCoy, followed by and Briana Buckmaster and Osric Chau. Next we have Jim Beaver and his partner Alona Tal, Ruth Connell and Ty Olssen. Finally, last but not least we have Jared Padalecki and his partner Jensen Ackles."

  
As Richard finished and all the couples had stepped out onto the floor, Jared looked around him at the other celebrities. He knew some of them by reputation, he was a big fan of Rob's band Louden Swain, and he had loved watching Mark on Lost. And he wouldn't admit it, but he did recognize Kim from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Felicia announced that they would be blocking the routines in the order of their voting numbers which was based on alphabetical order of their last names. Jensen and he were number 7, so they had quite some time to wait. Jensen pulled him aside to introduce him to some of the other people. The first person he introduced Jared to was the gorgeous redhead Chad had been hoping he'd be partnered with.

  
"Jared this is Danneel. She is the second best dancer on the show after me," Jensen said with a laugh.

  
"Oh Jensen, but only one of us has actually won the trophy. I'm having trouble remembering who it...oh right it was me!" Danneel laughed and shook Jared's hand. She pulled her partner over to introduce him.

  
"Hi I'm Jason," the bearded man said.

  
"Good to meet you, I'm a fan of your music. I'm sorry you have to dance with Danni, she has terrible taste in music," Jensen joked.

  
Danneel pretended to look offended, and turned to Jared. "You're the one we should feel sorry for sweetie. Jensen is an awful choreographer. Luckily you're good looking and you seem nice, so I'm sure people will vote for you to stay in the competition despite your partner."

  
Jensen chuckled and shook his head. "Love you too Danneel. I'm going to go introduce him to the nice people."

  
"That's fine. Just watch out for Misha, I saw his eyes practically bug out of his head when you and Jared walked out."

  
"Thanks for the warning!" Jared said as Jensen led him away.

  
"I want you to meet Chris before he gets too busy. He's the leader of the in house band and he does a lot of vocals on the songs we perform live."

  
They walked over to where the band was warming up and Jensen called out to a guy sitting on an amp by the dance floor. He looked up from the guitar in his hands and nodded at them in greeting.

  
"Hey Chris."

  
"Jensen. Good to see you brother."

  
"Jared this is Christian Kane."

  
"Nice to meet you Jared," the man said, setting down his guitar to shake Jared's hand.

  
"You too."  
"Make sure you let me know if Jensen gets out of line with you. I'll kick his ass for ya," Chris said with a wink.

  
"I'll be sure to do that," Jared replied smiling.

  
"Don't be fooled Jared. Chris acts like he's some rough tough cowboy, but he's just a big softie. He's a total sap and don't let him tell you other wise.  Especially now. He actually met his girlfriend when she did the show a couple seasons ago."

  
"You did?" Jared asked.

  
Chris smiled and ducked his head down. "Yeah. First time I saw her I thought she was beautiful. Then I saw her out there dancing under those lights and...that was it for me. Course I didn't have the courage to talk to her."

  
"It's true," Jensen added. "He was mooning over her for weeks at every rehearsal and show until finally, one week after a rehearsal where he was singing an acoustic version of the song she was dancing to, she came over and talked to him."

  
"She had tears in her eyes and she told me it was the most beautiful cover of the song she'd ever heard."

  
"And then you asked her out?"

  
Jensen laughed. "No he was still too chicken. She was pretty friendly with my partner that season, Rebecca Field , so I convinced her to come out with me, Becca, and her partner, Matt, and I invited Chris along. Then the rest of us made it a point to push them together all night. Without being too obvious of course."

  
"They **were** obvious. But luckily she didn't seem to mind. I took her to dinner the next night and I haven't been the same since. And I owe it all to Jensen. Despite all my teasing, he really is a great guy," Chris said slapping Jensen on the back.

  
"Thanks Chris. I'll let you get back to warming up."

  
"Nice meeting you Jared. Good luck."

  
Jensen and Jared started to walk over to where some other dancers were sitting when a little brunette in a sparkly top stepped in front of them.

  
"Jensen. Aren't you going to introduce me to your gorgeous partner?" She asked, batting her eyes at Jared.

  
"Of course Sandy. This is Jared. Jared this is Sandy," Jensen replied.

  
"The reigning and soon to be back to back champion of Celebrity Ballroom!" Sandy exclaimed. She sidled up to Jared and looked him up and down. "My my you are just delicious. Too bad you're not dancing with me. I bet we could have had a lot of fun." She ran her hand over Jared's chest and arm. "Well there's always the Switchup week. I guess I should go find Mark. I hope to see you later Jared," Sandy said squeezing his bicep.

  
Sandy flounced away and her spot was quickly taken up by the man Chad had jokingly said he hoped Jared would be paired with.

  
"Hi Misha," Jensen said.

  
"Jensen you know I love you of course, but I came over to talk to your tall dark and handsome partner. Hi I'm Misha Collins," he said holding his hand out to Jared.

  
"Jared Padalecki. Nice to meet you," Jared replied shaking Misha's hand.

  
"And a firm grip too. Jensen you really won the lottery with this one. He's going to have all the ladies swooning in their heels. And maybe some of us men too."

  
"He's straight Misha."

  
"So am I some of the time. Sexuality doesn't have to be all one or the other Jensen, you know that. Maybe he just hasn't met the right man yet."

  
Jensen could see that Jared was beginning to get a little bit uncomfortable with this conversation and was relieved when Misha's partner stepped in to introduce herself.

  
"Hi I'm Kim Rhodes," the short-haired brunette said extending her hand.

  
Jared shook her hand gratefully. "I'm Jared."

  
"Are you guys excited about the first dance? We got Salsa, and I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous."

  
"I'm nervous, but excited...but nervous," Jared replied.

  
"I'm sure you'll do great. And at least after the first one we'll know what to expect right?"

  
"Right. I just hope I don't have some kind of wardrobe malfunction on live television," Jared joked.

  
"Well maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing," Misha said with a wink.

  
"That reminds me. Jared I want check on our costumes in wardrobe. Let's go do that. We'll see you guys later," Jensen said quickly pulling Jared away.

  
"Is he always like that?"

  
"Who Misha? Misha is complex. Don't get me wrong, I love him to death, he can just be intense. Especially if he decides he wants something. Many a celebrity has fallen for Misha, male and female."

  
"Really?" Jared asked in surprise.

  
"Yep. He's a really great guy once you get to know him. Super smart, funny, and he does a lot of charity work."

  
"Huh. Why don't **you** date him?" Jared asked.

  
Jensen laughed. "Me and Misha? It'd be too much sexy for anyone to handle. Plus Misha is very...overt, I tend to play my cards a little closer to the vest if you know what I mean."

  
Jared nodded his head. They heard their names being called to be on stand by for blocking, and Jensen suggested they stretch a little bit. As Jared bent over, Jensen tried hard not to stare at his ass. _Pull it together Ackles_ , he thought. _You're a professional. He's nothing special. He's just another hot, funny, sweet guy. Ok he's something special, but he's your partner, so lock it down!_ Jensen turned to stretch in the opposite direction, so he at least wouldn't be distracted by Jared's gorgrous body. It didn't stop him from thinking about it though, or what it looked like under his workout clothes.

  
"Earth to Jensen. You guys are up," Felicia said tapping him on the shoulder.

  
"Sorry Felicia, I zoned out. Come on Jared, let's go show them who the real competition is."

  
Jared stood up and followed Jensen to the stage to block their dance. Everything seemed to go relatively well, and Jensen said he thought that they would be well prepared for the following night. Many of the other couples had positive things to say about their routine so they left feeling pretty good.

 

The night of the first show however, Jared was a ball of nervous energy. Jensen tried his best to keep him calm but he could tell that the other man was still worried about their performance. He saw the little worry lines on Jared's forehead and wanted to kiss them away. He settled for a reassuring arm squeeze and a pat on the back. Cheering for the other couples distracted him for awhile but when a crew member let them know they were coming up next, Jared started getting nervous again.

  
"Jared, you're going to be fine," Jensen said. "You did great yesterday."

  
"That wasn't live television in front of millions of viewers."

  
"It's going to be ok. Honestly, when the crowd gets going it might encourage you to relax."

  
"Do you really think that?" Jared asked

  
"Only way you're going to find out is to do it right?" Jensen said with a smile.

  
They walked backstage and waited for their cue to go on. When they got the signal they stepped to the center of the stage and took their places. They stood looking at each other before the music began, watching a short video of their introductions.

  
"You ready?" Jensen asked as the video ended.

  
"Ready as I'm going to be," Jared replied.

  
"You got this, we practiced a hundred times. You're ready."

  
The music began and it seemed like Jared performed almost on autopilot. The dance went quickly, and as they struck their final pose, he couldn't believe it was over already. He looked at Jensen who was smiling back at him.

  
"You did it!" Jensen said hugging him.

  
They walked over to the judges table where they were met by Richard.

  
"So Jared, how do you feel about your Celebrity Ballroom debut?" Richard asked.

  
"That was probably one of the scariest things I've ever done," Jared answered truthfully.

  
"Well let's see what the judges thought. We'll start with our head judge Mark Sheppard."

  
"Jared, I'm going to be honest, it wasn't great. It's the first performance, so I'm not expecting perfection obviously. I'm not entirely sure what to make of you, but I do want to see more," Mark said.

  
"Ok, moving on to Alaina," Richard said pointing at the middle judge.

  
"Jared I've been a fan of yours since Gilmore Girls, and I was very excited to see you compete. I agree with Mark that the dance wasn't great, but I certainly don't think it was bad. I think it was a decent week one dance from someone who's never danced before. I personally saw a lot of potential in that dance," Alaina replied.

  
"And lastly, Sebastian," Richard said.

  
"I agree with Alaina. You're in a very unique position Jared. Being a part of the first same sex couple is a big deal, and that could allow you to do things that we've never seen done on the show. Jensen is a good choreographer and I think if he can play to your strengths you two can go far."

  
"Alright, you guys can head up to Felicia to get your scores."

  
They headed up the steps to where Felicia was waiting to do the post interview.

  
"Good job guys. Jared how did you feel about the dance?" Felicia asked.

  
"Uh I felt pretty good until the comments," Jared admitted.

  
"Jensen how did **you** feel about those comments?"

  
"You know I'm used to criticism, it's always hard doing that first dance and getting judged, but it's part of the competition."

  
"Well let's get your scores. Mark Sheppard, 6. Alaina Huffman, 7. Sebastian Roche, 6. A total of 19. Not a bad score. What do you guys think?"

  
"I'll take them, after the comments I thought we were getting 3's so, I'm happy," Jared said.

  
"It's week one, we'll be back next week, and we're going to do better. It's all about moving forward each week."

  
The camera cut for commercial break and Jensen led Jared to sit down backstage. He thought the dance had gone pretty well, there had been some shaky moments, but nothing terrible. But he could tell that Jared was bothered by the judge's comments and scores despite the smiles and jokes during the post dance interview. He'd been worried that he was going to end up paired with a male actor who thought the competition was a joke and wasn't going to take it seriously, but Jared was turning out to be the exact opposite. He wanted so badly to succeed and seemed to take the criticism personally. As Jensen looked at the sullen expression on Jared's face he decided that he was not only going to make Jared the best dancer he could be, but he wanted to make sure that perfect smile never left his face again.


	2. Week 2: Tango

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Week two of competition brings out insecurities in Jared which Jensen tries to help him overcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 2! I really like where this story is heading, I'm just having a hard time getting everything down in a way that I'm satisfied with. This chapter in particular was kind of a bear, and I just realized it's actually pretty short. All the angst must make it seem longer. I hope to be updating more consistently if real life doesn't keep getting in the way. Thank you for the support on the first chapter!

_**Week 2** _

 

  
When Jensen walked into the studio a few days later Jared was already there sitting on the steps. He had his head down looking at his phone, and when Jensen came in he looked up. Jensen tried to read the expression on his face which seemed like a mixture of sadness and worry.

  
"What's up Jared? You look like someone told you unicorns weren't real."

  
"Unicorns aren't real?" Jared asked looking shocked.

  
"Seriously. Why the long face?" Jensen asked sitting down next to him.

  
"Were you disappointed with last week's dance?"

  
"Jared, it was the first week. You did a good job. I didn't expect us to get tens the first week. We weren't even in last place."

  
"I just don't want to let you down," Jared said quietly.

  
The dejected look on Jared's face made Jensen want to cry. He looked so much younger, and somehow smaller in that moment, and it tugged at Jensen's heart to see him like that. "The only way you'd let me down is if you stopped having fun and didn't give it your best shot. And that's not something I'm worried about ok?"

  
"Ok," Jared said, not sounding convinced.

  
Jensen stood up and reached his hand out to Jared. "Come on. We're leaving."

  
"Where are we going?"

  
"You need to relax. I want to take you somewhere. You'll see."

  
Jared followed Jensen outside and they got into his car. Jared tried to get the other man to tell him where they were going, but he shook his head and said he'd just have to wait. He settled back in his seat watching the small smile on Jensen's face as he sang along with the radio. After about a half hour of driving, Jensen announced they were almost there. When he pulled into a parking lot several minutes later, Jared looked at the sign and laughed.

  
"You brought me to the zoo?"

  
"I thought you'd like it. You seem like you were the type of kid who enjoyed going and making faces at the monkeys through the glass."

  
"That may be true," Jared replied. "But I liked the tigers too. And lions. And polar bears. Oh and the elephants!"

  
"You're really excited aren't you?" Jensen asked with a smile.

  
"I am," Jared admitted blushing slightly.

  
"Well let's get moving then. Lots to see."

  
They got out of the car and took the short walk up to the ticket window. When they got there Jared pulled out his wallet and Jensen waved it away.

  
"I acutally have a membership. I know it seems silly for a grown man with no children to have a membership to the zoo, but I donated to them last year and I got one. Besides, I like coming here," Jensen admitted.

  
"I don't think it's silly. I love animals," Jared replied, taking a map from the window display.

  
"So what do you want to see first?" Jensen asked. He looked at the twinkle in Jared's eye. "Hmmm gorillas right?"

  
Jared laughed and pulled Jensen off in the direction of the primate exhibits. They did indeed make faces at the monkeys, attracting attention from some parents and their amused children. Jensen took a picture of Jared stretching his neck to try to eat leaves in front of the giraffe exhibit and Jared took one of Jensen roaring at the lions in their enclosure. When they got to the elephants, Jared suggested they take a picture together. Jensen looked around and saw a woman standing by herself several feet away.

  
"Excuse me, would you mind taking a picture of us?" Jensen asked.

  
"Not at all," she said smiling.

  
Jensen stepped back over and stood next to Jared. Jared put his arm around Jensen's shoulders, and Jensen leaned in. After the woman snapped a picture, they both thanked her.

  
"You two are adorable together," the lady said handing Jensen back his phone.

  
Jensen looked around nervously, worried that Jared might have overheard, but he was busy reading a plaque about elephant dietary habits. "Thank you."

  
"You and your fella remind me of when my husband and I first met. We had our first date here actually, in high school. Now we've been married for thirty years, and every Tuesday we meet at the elephant exhibit and have lunch or dinner or dessert. Whatever we're in the mood for. You look at him like Bob looked at me, well still looks at me actually. You hold on to that boy."

  
Jensen felt his face redden. "Thank you very much ma'am. I will."

  
_If you only knew_ , Jensen thought. He waved a goodbye and walked back over to Jared.

  
"I feel like I've been dragging you to everything I want to see. Show me your favorite exhibit," Jared said.

  
Several minutes later they arrived in front of the otter habitat. Several of the animals were scurrying up an embankment and sliding down. Jensen sat down on a bench in front of them, and Jared joined him.

  
"I was not expecting the otters," Jared said after a moment.

  
"No? What were you expecting?"

  
"I don't know. Something less fuzzy and adorable."

  
"I like to come here and watch them. They're incredibly social creatures, and they're so smart. When I'm stressed out I just like to sit here and watch them interact with each other. They're so family oriented I guess it's just a nice thing to see when I'm living by myself in a town of air-kisses and power-lunches. I know that probably sounds lame," Jensen said.

  
"Can I tell you a secret?" Jared asked, and Jensen nodded. "I watched that video of the sea otters holding hands while sleeping, and I cried."

  
Jensen laughed. "I'm not going to make fun of you for that. That video is cuteness overload."

  
Jared laughed and then they sat in silence for several minutes, watching the otters sliding down the hill into the water, and rolling around with each other. Eventually Jensen broke the silence.

  
"Jared, why are you so worried about disappointing me?"

  
"It's not just you. I mean I am worried about disappointing **you** , but I've kind of just always been that way. My biggest fear is letting down the people I care about. I uh...I've dealt with anxiety and some depression issues in the past and...I was really managing it well for awhile. But I guess when I started getting turned down for roles I was interested in, and cast for ones I wasn't, that I started feeling like I was failing," Jared answered quietly.

  
"You're not failing Jared."

  
"I know. And the rational part of me knows that. But the other more emotional part of me can't accept it. Sometimes I have trouble compartmentalizing things, so I dwell on something I've done wrong and then it snowballs into everything that I've ever done wrong. Like I was upset that we didn't get better scores, and I felt like I failed you, and I failed myself because this was supposed to be about me revitalizing myself and becoming stronger. And that tumbled into me doubting if I ever should have become an actor, and have I disappointed my parents by not becoming a doctor like my brother, and basically whatever else bad I could think of."

  
Jensen looked at Jared who was now staring at the ground. _Poor Jared. This guy's heart may just be too big_. Jensen wanted to cuddle Jared to him, stroke his hair and tell him that everything was going to be ok. But he knew that he couldn't do that. He might be attracted to him, but this guy needed a friend right now, so that's what Jensen would be.

  
"I can't say that I complete understand what you're going through, but I do get the self doubt thing. This is my eighth season as a pro, and I still haven't brought home the trophy. I've gotten close before, but I could never go all the way. Danni, Matt and I all had a pact that we'd each win at least once before we retired, and I'm the only one who hasn't won. Each time I get eliminated I wonder if it's because I'm not good enough. I don't blame my partner, I blame myself for not teaching them better, or choreographing better."

  
"Jensen that's silly. You can't turn everyone into professional dancer. It's not your fault," Jared interjected.

  
"It's like you said, part of me knows that. And  the other part of me just needs to be reassured once in awhile that I'm going to succeed eventually. Just like I'm going to reassure you, that you are amazing," Jensen said patting Jared's leg.

They sat there for a little while longer, not speaking just sitting and watching the furry creatures through the glass. Both of them could tell that the other one had a lot of thoughts running through his mind, but it didn't seem like the time to talk. As the sun began to go down Jensen broke the silence.

  
"So you ready to get back to the studio? I want you to at least get a feel for the music tonight."

  
"Yeah let's go. I just want to stop at the gift shop first if that's ok. I want to get something to send to my nephew."

  
They stopped into the gift shop and picked out a stuffed alligator to send to Jared's nephew. Jared also selected a shotglass shaped like a gorilla paw, and an LA Zoo magnet. Jensen picked out a calendar of highlighted exhibits, and Jared teased him for being boring so he also bought a pair of slippers shaped like some kind of feet with claws.

  
They walked back to the car and drove back to the studio, stopping for wraps since Jensen had assumed (correctly), that Jared would be hungry again. When they arrived at the studio they sat down to eat their food, and Jensen out on their music.

  
"What is this?" Jared asked.

  
"It's called 'Scars' by Alesso featuring Ryan Tedder. I heard it a few weeks ago on a workout playlist Danni made and really dug it. It's a good song to get you moving but I also feel like the lyrics are pretty powerful. I actually had planned to do a different song this week, but after the other night I pushed to try to get this one. I thought it might speak to you."

  
Jared listened to the rest of the song and then responded. "I like it a lot. I think it has a good message. Probably one that I should try to take more to heart. I shouldn't be so self conscious about my short comings. Every time I've failed it's seemed really bad at the time, but in reality it's made me try harder to succeed. Even if it doesn't always seem like it those scars have made me a stronger person."

  
"That's exactly what I wanted you to realize. I know you get down on yourself, but you're not a weak person Jared. It's kind of ironic, because I think a lot of people with depression feel like it makes them somehow weaker than other people, but I actually think that they're **stronger** than other people because of what they're dealing with. It takes a lot to be able to cope with something like that, and I think you're doing a pretty good job," Jensen said looking intently at the other man.

  
"Thanks Jensen. Really thank you. It means a lot to me to hear you say that. I um...I got you something at the gift shop when you weren't looking," Jared said, pulling out a bag and handing it to Jensen. "I hope you don't think it's stupid. I just wanted to say thank you for listening to me today. And for being so nice and patient with me."

  
Jensen opened the bag and pulled out a stuffed otter. "I love it. He's going to look perfect on my nightstand."

  
"You're not going to sleep with him?" Jared teased.

  
"Well not on the first date. We need to get to know each other a little first. Maybe then I'll invite him into my bed," Jensen joked.

  
" Well I'm glad to know you're not the type of guy to just jump into bed with any otter who comes his way."

  
"Nah I've learned to be a little more selective about who I share my bed with," Jensen replied, his joking tone having turned a little more serious.

  
Jared picked up on the change of mood, and wondered what the story was behind that comment. He decided not to press the issue since Jensen seemed reluctant to talk about it. He was grateful at how their friendship was progressing and figured that he'd tell him when and if he was ready.

  
"You ready to call it a night?" Jensen asked, getting to his feet.

  
"Yeah. It'll probably be good for me to have an early night. Since I'm sure you're going to have me here at the crack of dawn tomorrow," Jared said gathering up his things.

  
"Maybe not the crack of dawn. I don't like to rise til the sun does. But at least I know I'll be sleeping well tonight," Jensen said holding up the otter.

  
Jared laughed. "I'm glad you like your gift. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

  
"See you tomorrow Jared. Be ready to tango!" Jensen said walking out the door.

 

 

Their rehearsals had gone relatively well the rest of that week. After their trip to the zoo, Jared had really seemed to be throwing himself into training and learning the dance. Jensen could tell that he still seemed to be up in his head when they danced, but he wasn't sure how to break him from the habit. Since Jared was leading in the dance, it was important for him to keep his arms straight and locked and to be sure of his movements, which was a lot of pressure for a second week dance. Jensen had every confidence that Jared could do it as long as he had the same faith in himself.

  
The night of the performances he tried his best to keep his partner calm, but Jensen could see the Jared from last week creeping back in. And to make matters worse they were dancing first which gave them less time to rehearse. Richard introduced all of the couples and the judges after the opening number, and everyone cleared the stage for Jared and Jensen's dance.

  
As the training package began detailing the rehearsals of their tango, Jensen looked over at the other man. "You ok?"

  
"I'm worried."

  
"It's gonna be fine you hear me? You just lead me around that dance floor like you own it ok?"

  
Jared gave him a small smile and nodded. The music began, they took hands and they launched into the dance. The first few paces went well, but about thirty seconds in Jared lost his footing and began to panic. He stopped in the middle of the floor with no idea what to do. Then he felt Jensen turn his head to face him.

  
"Hey, look at me. I got you."

  
Jensen looked Jared in the eyes, and started singing along with the song "I, I don't care if it kills me tonight."

  
Jared smiled and joined in with Jensen. "Cause I, I'll be loving these scars for life!"

  
They got back into hold and finished what was left of the dance. As they stood in their final position, Jared heard the crowd cheering for him. He was disappointed in himself, but it seemed like the audience was still on their side. Jensen gave him a one armed hug and led him over to the judges. Richard spoke first.

  
"Jared, what happened out there?"

  
"I don't know exactly. I uh, kind of tripped over myself I guess, and it threw me off. Luckily, Jensen here was able to pull me back into it," Jared said, mopping the sweat off his face.

  
"You did end it on a strong note, the audience seemed to enjoy it, let's see how the judges felt," Richard said, pointing at Alaina first.

  
"Jared, Jared, Jared, I'm sad that you messed up, because I know you're upset by it. But the moment when you did, and Jensen looked at you and said 'I got you', I think was my favorite part of the dance. That was real emotion, and that's what dance is about. I want you to keep working on that," Alaina said.

  
"Sebastian?"

  
"I could tell that it shook you up that you had that little mishap. If I had one piece of advice for you Jared, it would be to have more fun. Don't be afraid to trust your partner, and just have fun. Because the moments when you do are when you shine the brightest my darling," Sebastian said blowing him a kiss.

  
"And finally Mark Sheppard."

  
"Jared, I'm going to say this, it wasn't perfect, you know that. It's an incredibly brave thing you're doing, and to be blunt, maybe there's a reason we haven't done it before. I'm not sure that two men are capable of dancing the way that a man and woman partnership can."

  
Boos could be heard from all around the ballroom, and Mark waved them away. "Oh boo me all you want." He turned back to Jared and Jensen. "Prove me wrong eh?"

  
Jensen and Jared exited the dance floor and climbed the steps to the balcony. They got hugs from several celebs and dancers as well as Felicia.

  
"So I have to ask you right off, how do you feel about Mark's comment that he doesn't think the two of you will be able to compete with the male/female couples?" Felicia asked.

  
Jensen answered first. "Honestly, I get where he's coming from, but that's only going to make us work twice as hard."

  
"You know I feel like I had something to prove to myself before, but even more so now I want to prove to Mark and everyone else that I'm in this to win it," Jared replied.

  
"Let's get your scores. Alaina Huffman 6, Sebastian Roche 6, and Mark Sheppard 5. A total of 17."

Jared's shoulders slumped and his mood was visibly dampened."It's ok Jared," Jensen whispered.

"How do you feel about those scores?" Felicia asked.

"I just hope we don't get eliminated tonight, and I can come back next week to show them I can do better," Jared said.

  
"Well, on that note, I do have some news to announce. We had found out before the show that DJ was injured in rehearsal yesterday, and he didn't know if he'd be able to dance. We just got word that his ankle is broken, so he will have to withdrawal from the competition, which means there will be **no** elimination tonight. So you're safe another week!" Felicia exclaimed.  
Jared hugged Jensen in relief.

  
"But these guys still need your votes America. So let them know you believe in them!"

  
As the camera cut to go to commercial, Jared pulled Jensen aside. "I know what you're going to say but just hear me out ok? I'm sorry that I screwed up the dance. I know you're going to say you're not disappointed, and you're not mad, but I'm disappointed in **myself**. I want to win this, but they're right, I keep getting too caught up in analyzing it that I'm forgetting that this is supposed to be fun too. In the second part of the dance, after you grabbed me and calmed me down, I let go, and I had a great time. I want that to be what this experience is about. And I want to show them that I'm...that we're not a joke."

  
Jensen studied the serious look on Jared's face. He admired the guy's dedication and commitment, but more than anything he admired how much heart Jared had. He didn't want to fall any harder for his partner than he already had, but when he said things like that, it wasn't easy.

  
He gave Jared a light pat on the arm. "I'm with you buddy. But just so you know, this is going to mean longer rehearsal hours and a lot more time spent with me."

  
"I think I can suffer through that to win the trophy," Jared replied flashing him a big grin.


	3. Week 3: Contemporary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Week 3 brings a new dance and Jared takes a more active role in the choreography.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! This chapter is on the short side, but on the bright side, chapter 4 is almost finished as well. So maybe if read together it won't seem as bad.

_**Week 3: Contemporary**_

When Jensen walked into the studio a few days later Jared was already there waiting for him.

"You really were taking that comment about long rehearsal hours seriously weren't you?"

"I was. And I'm already all stretched out Ackles, so let's go."

_Don't do it Jensen. Do not make a comment about stretching him out. Be an adult and don't hit on your heterosexual dance partner...no matter how cute he looks in those shorts._

_"_ Well you're going to have to give me a few minutes to get acclimated then," Jensen said

_"_ I'm excited, so sue me. What dance are we doing this week anyway?" Jared asked

"This week we have contemporary"

"Is that like interpretive dance? "

  
Jensen chuckled. "Kind of, but it's not like you're thinking. We're not going to bend like the willow or pretend to be whales or anything."

"Ok...how did you know that's what I was worried about? "

You just had the look on your face."

"What look?" Jared asked .

  
" You get this look when you think I'm going to make you do something ridiculous. You have to trust me, I'm not going to make you look stupid. I want you to win."

  
"I do trust you. I'm just so out of my element you know?"

  
"Well if it makes you feel better, I think this is going to be a really good week for you. There's a lot of creative freedom in contemporary. It's one of my favorite dances, and you'll probably love the costumes."

  
"Why is that?"

  
"Because they basically end up just being loose fitting pants and a t-shirt. And usually no shoes."

  
"That does sound pretty good. Are you going to make me take off my shirt? Don't they do that a lot on the show?"

  
_I would love to make you take off your shirt, but not on television_ , Jensen thought. "I figure we should save that for further into the competition. Unless of course you want to go shirtless, in which case by all means, take it off Padalecki!"

  
Jared smiled. "Maybe that's something we should hold off on for now. You know, our ace in the hole."

  
"Good thinking. I do have a surprise for you though. The theme this week is favorite artists. So you get to pick the song, or at least artist."

  
"Really? So we can do Pearl Jam? " Jared asked excitedly.

  
"As long as we can get the rights we can do whatever you want."

  
" **Whatever** I want?" Jared asked with a wink.

  
Jensen's stomach clenched. _Was Jared flirting with him? No, he can't be. He's just messing around_. "Within reason. "

  
"Well contemporary is really focused on telling a story right? And representing the raw emotions?" Jared asked.

  
"Somebody's been doing research!"

  
"A little bit. Mama sent me some links to her favorite dances from past seasons. You'll be happy to know there were several of yours."

  
"I knew I liked your mama. Is she going to make it to any of the shows?" Jensen asked.

  
"Her and my dad and sister are going to try to. They have assured me that if they can't make it they will still me voting though. And forcing all their friends to as well."

  
"That's real nice of them. I really hope I get a chance to meet them."

  
"Me too," Jared said. _My mama would love you. They'd all love you. I don't see how anyone could not love you_ , Jared thought, looking at Jensen. _Where did that come from?_ "Um, anyway, back to the song. I think a lot of Pearl Jam songs have a good story, but I think that "Betterman" would be a really good one. Maybe a dance representing the struggle of being in a relationship that clearly isn't working, with someone who you know is toxic, but you stay because you don't think that you can do any better."

  
Jensen listened to Jared's idea in stunned silence. It was a really good, mature, and well thought out idea, and it also described exactly what he'd gone through in past relationships. _He doesn't know, and yet it's like he knows exactly._

  
"I think that's a really solid idea. How do you want to play it?"

  
"I like the idea of the light at the end of the tunnel. I want to represent the hope as well as the struggle. The main subject of the song knows that things aren't working, and dreams of leaving and finding real happiness, but just keeps getting pulled back into this relationship. It's sad, but it makes sense. You know, it's scary to force yourself out of the stagnancy of the relationship because even though it's bad, it's what you know. But I think the point of view of the song is someone on the outside of the relationship, seeing it happening, understanding all of that and thinking, "I could be the better man. If only I could break the cycle of this relationship, and convince them that there is someone who will love them like they deserve."

  
Jensen swallowed, he had started to get a little emotional during Jared's description. _How is this guy even real? And how was I lucky enough to get him as a partner?_

  
"Jensen are you ok? You're really quiet," Jared asked.

  
"I'm fine. It's just, it's a really good idea. You really paint a good mental picture. I think it's perfect."

  
Jared smiled at the compliment. "So let's get to work then."

  
Jensen spent the next couple hours showing Jared various moves while listening to the song. He listened to Jared's input on each one, paying attention to what he liked and what he didn't. He began to work them into a routine and pulled Jared up to join him. They danced for another few hours until Jensen decided they had a good basis for a routine and they decided to stop for the day.

  
"What do you think so far?" Jensen asked as they packed up their things.

  
"I think it's really good," Jared replied sincerely.

  
"It was the perfect choice for a song Jared. Your interpretation made it easy to create choreograph and it was really well thought out. You have a way with words you know that? You should consider writing something. Maybe if you can't find roles you want to play, you should write one yourself," Jensen suggested.

  
"You think I could pull that off?" Jared asked.

  
"I think you could do just about anything Jared." Jensen held the other man's gaze for a minute and then looked away, not wanting to give the wrong idea. "Well I'll see you tomorrow. And I figure since I let you pick the song, I get to pick tomorrow's lunch."

  
"You're on. See you tomorrow Jensen."

 

 

As Jared began his drive home he heard his phone start to ring. He activated the speakerphone and answered. Chad's voice rang out through the car.

  
"What's up bitch?"

  
"Chad. Good to hear from you buddy," Jared said, genuinely happy to hear from his friend.

  
" Well I was on my way back from a day trip to the beach, catching some waves, getting some sun, checking out the local talent. You know, the usual. Thought I'd give you a call and see how the world of dance and reality TV is treating you. "

  
Jared chuckled "It's ok. If you've been watching then you know it's been kind of rough in the beginning. But I think this week is going to turn things around. Jensen put together a really solid routine. The guy is talented man."

  
" Ahh Jensen. And how is **that** going? You in love with him yet?" Chad asked.

  
_Why would he ask that?_ Sure he'd had a few fleeting thoughts that maybe weren't entirely heterosexual, but he really admired Jensen as a person, and they'd been spending a lot of time together. It's not like he looked at Jensen's plush pink lips when he got a bit of mayo or something on them and thought about licking it off. _I'm not attracted to Jensen. He's just a great guy, and a good friend._

  
"What? Why would you ask that?"

  
"I'm kidding man. Don't you remember what I said to you the first day?"

  
Jared thought back to the conversation. "Don't fall in love...right."

  
"Geez. Defensive much? I mean I wouldn't blame you. He's pretty good looking for a guy. But obviously if that's what you're into you would have tried to hit on me years ago."

  
"Right Chad. You are the epitome of the perfect male specimen," Jared laughed.

  
"And don't you forget it. Seriously though, he's treating you ok? You just say the word I can lay the Murray Smackdown on him."

"Yes Chad he's treating me fine. He and I are becoming really good friends, we've talked about a lot of stuff, not just the dances. He actually suggested something tonight that I think I'm going to consider."

"Like something sexual?"

"No you moron. He suggested that if I can't find roles I want to play, maybe I should try writing something. I've thought about it before but I ever really gave it a shot, it was always kind of pipe dream. When he mentioned it tonight I thought maybe it's something I should revisit."

Jared could almost hear Chad's smile from the other end of the phone. "I think it's a great idea dude. And if you need anyone to help you out by starring in your masterpiece, you know I'm in."

"Thanks Chad."

"Well I just wanted to check in with you, and to tell you to not get eliminated this week because I'm going to try to make it to next week's performance."

  
"Thanks for the pep talk. You just make sure you're doing your part and voting ok?"

  
"Will do. Talk to you later man."

 

The rest of the week in rehearsals went smoothly and the night of performances Jared was nervous but not as nervous as he had been in previous weeks. Jensen looked on as he chatted away enthusiastically backstage with the other dancers, smiling that he seemed more relaxed. He joked with the other celebrities, treating them as friends and not as competition. It said a lot about his personality that even though he wanted badly to win, he was still eager to cheer on his friends. It was another one of the many things Jensen found incredibly endearing about the other man.

  
As they got ready to take the floor for their dance he looked at Jared. "I don't even feel like I need to pep talk you for this one."

  
Jared laughed. "Maybe just a little one?"

  
"Ok," Jensen agreed. "You came up with something heartfelt and inspirational. This dance is great. You're going to do great because this was something you helped create." Jensen paused. "And also, we're not wearing shoes...and basically have on sweatpants. So I know you're going to be comfortable.You got this Jared. And remember, we're doing this for Eddie Vedder."

  
Jared shook his head laughing. "Yep. You're right. I've gotta do this for Eddie. And for no shoes!"

  
The song started and they began their dance. The story unfolded as first Jensen depicted being torn between a phantom person and the other side of the floor where Jared was. Jared looked on trying to pull Jensen over to his side of the dance floor. It continued like this, showing the struggle that Jared had described, of someone wanting desperately to leave their situation, but too attached to let go, and the other person standing by and watching wanting nothing more than to pull them from it. As the song came closer to the end Jensen fell to the ground and Jared crossed the stage and pulled him up to their final pose which was both of Jensen's hands laced in Jared's as they just stared at one another.

  
As the applause began, Jared broke out into a huge smile. Jensen patted him on the back as Richard came over to congratulate them.

  
"So favorite artist week Jared, and you picked Pearl Jam. Seems like letting you pick your jam, pardon my pun, seemed to really help you out," Richard said.

  
"Yeah, yeah I think it did. Their lyrics make it easy to find a story in them, and that's what we tried to do with this dance, find a story," Jared replied.

  
"Well I think you did a good job of that. But I'm not a judge, so let's hear from them. Starting with head judge Mark Sheppard."

  
"I liked it. I'm not convinced yet, but I'll tell you what Jared, that was a solid effort. You're really taking the criticism to heart and I appreciate that," Mark said.

  
Sebastian spoke next. "That is what I've been talking about. You were completely focused on the music and the dance instead of the mechanics. Feeling the steps instead of just doing them. Keep that up."

  
Alaina spoke last, she was smiling brightly. "I loved that! The storytelling in that piece was great. I'm very pleased with the direction you took it in. And I agree with Sebastian, I think when you're able to find that connection to the music and the choreography it makes things a lot easier for you."

  
"Alright guys, head on up to get your scores," Rich said.

  
They were both grinning when they got up to the balcony where Felicia was waiting to interview them. "I'm so happy you guys are so happy! Jared what's going on in your head right now?"

  
"I'm not even sure. A lot," Jared laughed. "I'm just glad everyone liked it."

  
"Jensen a lot of good things to say about your choreography, what are your thoughts?"

  
"It was all Jared. Unless the scores are bad, then I take the credit. But seriously. Jared came up with a great concept and I just ran with it," Jensen replied, patting Jared on the arm.

  
"Well keep on running then, it seems to be working for you. Let's get your scores. Alaina Huffman 8, Sebastian Roche 8, and Mark Sheppard 7, a total of 23!"

  
Jared wrapped Jensen in a bear hug. He knew they still had the elimination to get through, but he was pretty damn happy just at those scores. "Thanks Jensen."

  
"For what?"

  
"For **this** I guess."

  
"Jay, you don't have to thank me, this was you. Your idea, I just helped make it a reality."

  
"Then thank you for **that**."

  
They stood by the balcony and watched the final two couples dance. After they finished Richard called all the couples back to the dance floor for the elimination. Jared fidgeted nervously as they announced who was safe and who was in the bottom of the pack.

  
"Rob and Gen, Jason and Danneel, Kim and Misha, Mark and Sandy, Rachel and Matt, and Jared and Jensen...you are all safe this week!" Richard exclaimed.

  
As the lights dimmed he announced that Jim and Alona, Briana and Osric, and Ruth and Ty were in jeopardy.

 

"The couple leaving tonight is, Ruth and Ty," Rich announced.

  
The crowd gave the usual boos at the elimination and Jared felt Jensen squeeze his hand. He was filled with mixed emotions. He would be sad to see the fiery redhead go. He really liked talking to her and would miss her jokes. On the other hand he was relieved that he and Jensen hadn't gotten eliminated. They hugged Ruth and Ty, and then he turned to Jensen.

  
"You think you can survive another week without getting sick of me?" Jared asked jokingly.

  
"I can honestly say I don't think I could ever get sick of you Jared."


	4. Week 4: Waltz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Week 4 brings the Waltz and also the theme of "Famous Couples".

_**Week 4: Waltz** _

  
"This just seems like it's a little much. Yeah Chris, I get that it's Famous Couples week, I just didn't expect to get such a cliche. I would have thought they would have given us some kind of buddy cop duo or something. Bert and Ernie, Han Solo and Chewbacca, Shaggy and Scooby Doo!"

  
Jensen was nervously pacing the floor of the rehearsal space while talking to Chris, who had just informed him of the song they'd been given. Chris was trying to calm him down, but Jensen was worried that this was going to be what sent Jared over the edge, and possibly made him pull out of the competition. He'd really been enjoying getting to know his partner, but he knew that much of the more intimate dancing was still uncomfortable for the other man. He'd promised Jared that he'd do whatever it took to help him win, and he didn't want to lose Jared over this.

  
"Jensen, it'll be fine. You're over thinking it. The guy is an actor, he knows how to pretend." Chris paused and waited for Jensen's response. When none came he spoke up again. "Is that what's bothering you? You don't want him to be pretending? You catching feelings for your partner Ackles?"

  
"No of course not. It's just different with Jared than it has been with anyone else."

  
"Well obviously, he's the first partner you've had who has the right working parts to strike your fancy," Chris pointed out. "What are you going to do when you have to hand your boyfriend over to somebody else for a week for the partner Switch Up?"

  
Jensen heard the door open, and turned and saw Jared with the camera crew. "I gotta go Chris, I'll call you later."

  
Jensen ended the call, and went over to greet Jared. "Hey Jared. How's it going?"

  
"Good. Brought you a coffee. I wasn't sure how you liked yours, so I got hot and iced and plenty of milk and sugar if you want it," Jared said setting the carrier down on the table. "I'm drinking an iced white chocolate mocha, but something told me that wasn't really your thing."

  
"No you'd be right. I'm more of a one milk, maybe sugar depending on my mood type of guy. But thanks. I appreciate the thought. Have a seat, I want to go over the plan for this week."

  
"Is something wrong? You look upset," Jared said sitting down.

  
Jensen scratched the back of his neck. "Uh nothing's wrong. It's just...ok so it's Famous Couples week alright?"

  
"Ok...so what? Did we get something cool like Batman and Robin?"

  
"Not exactly."

  
"Jensen stop worrying. I'm sure whatever it is isn't as bad as you think. I'm not going to freak out," Jared said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

  
"We got _Brokeback Mountain_."

  
Jared took a long sip from his coffee. "Like the gay cowboy movie?" He asked.

  
"Yeah."

  
Jared exhaled deeply. "Ok. Well that is...not what I expected. But it's fine. What dance do we have?"

  
"The waltz," Jensen replied.

  
"That's a hard one isn't it?"

  
"They're all hard. But yeah, it's going to be your first real dance in hold so that will be a challenge. We kind of snuck by with the tango, so they'll be scoring hard on this one."

  
"Well that's why I'm here right? To get better?"

  
"Right. I have some ideas for choreography, but I want to talk about the characters first. You seem to do better if we really discuss and visualize the story aspect of the dance. It makes sense if you think about it, you're an actor so you're basically finding and getting to know your character. So first question have you seen _Brokeback Mountain_?" Jensen asked.

  
Jared shook his head. "Wasn't really at the top of my list."

  
"I understand your reservations, but it's actually a great movie. In fact I think before we do anything we should watch it. Why don't you come over to my place tonight? We can get takeout."

  
"You know if there's food I'm in," Jared replied.

 

 

Later that night Jared showed up at Jensen's condo with a case of beer ready to watch the movie and brainstorm. Jensen suggested they eat first so their stomachs, or rather Jared's stomach, didn't distract them from the movie.

  
"Do you want to get pizza, Chinese, sandwiches, I have a plethora of takeout menus," Jensen said, pulling a drawer full of fliers open to prove his point.

  
"What would you recommend?" Jared asked

  
"There's a pretty good Mexican place a few blocks away. They deliver and their nachos are amazing."

  
"Do they have flan?"

  
"I think so," Jensen replied scanning the menu.

  
"Then I vote for Mexican."

  
Jensen called in the order, fajitas for him, a burrito and enchilada combo for Jared, as well as nachos to share and flan for dessert. They opened the beer while they waited and made small talk.

  
''Do you know what the other couples are doing?" Jared asked.

  
"Some of them. I know Danni and Jason got Lucy and Ricky. She thinks she was typecast as a ginger, but she's going to be an adorable Lucy. And Kim and Misha got Antony and Cleopatra. He's going for a big production number he said, lots of extra dancers."

  
"How do you think we'll stand up?" Jared asked.

  
"It's not about the production value of a dance. It's about the story and the connection," Jensen replied.

  
"You're not a fan of the over-the-top, flashy dances are you?"

  
"Not really. They have a time an place. I'm just a purist I guess. I'm a simple kind of guy. Maybe I chose the wrong kind of profession."

  
"I don't know, you seem to be doing pretty well so far."

  
"I haven't won yet."

  
"Yet. Maybe you just didn't have the right partner," Jared said with a wink.

  
"Maybe. I do feel more of a connection with you than I have with anyone else," Jensen admitted.

  
As soon as he said it he regretted it. He didn't want Jared to know that he was harboring a pathetic crush on him. Not only would it make things weird between them, but it was embarrassing.

  
"Must be because we're both Texans right?" Jensen said, trying to make a joke out of it.

  
He was saved by the sound of the doorbell.

  
"I think the food's here."

  
"I got it. You said I could pay this time," Jared said getting up.

  
Jared came back with the food and they dug in. Jensen started a conversation about the Dallas Cowboys in between bites, figuring sports would be a safe topic. He listened intently as Jared talked animatedly about a game his brother Jeff had taken him to when he was a kid. When they were stuffed they rolled themselves over to the couch to watch the movie. Jensen turned the movie on and settled back on the couch, trying to make sure he was a comfortable distance from Jared. As the film began he lost himself in the story, only sneaking glances at the other man every so often. Jared seemed to be enjoying it as well, but Jensen didn't want to spoil the moment by asking. As it got closer to the end of the movie however, he found himself watching Jared more than the screen. At some point Jared had tucked his legs up under him and nestled into the arm of the couch and it was just about the cutest thing Jensen had ever seen. He couldn't help but wonder what it would be like curling up and watching a movie with Jared every Friday night like a weekly date night. The thought of Jared wrapped around him caused his dick to stir in his jeans, and he quickly tried to focus on the tragic love story of Ennis and Jack.

  
"So what did you think?" Jensen asked when the movie was over.

  
"It was good," Jared answered trying to surreptitiously wipe his eyes.

  
"Jared are you crying?"

  
"No. Ok I got a little teary! It was really sad!"

  
"I'm not judging you, I agree with you," Jensen replied.

  
Jared unfolded his legs and turned to face Jensen. "It's just...they never really got to be themselves except when they were together, and they **couldn't** be together."

  
"So they spent their lives trying to be who the rest of the world wanted them to be," Jensen finished.

  
"Exactly. And I know that there were happy moments and stuff, like with the kids, but not being able to be with the one you love...I think that might be the worst thing in the world."

  
"Which do you think is worse? Not being with them because you're afraid, and feel torn about who you love and the life you've already created, or being the one who pours their heart out only to be told you can't be together?" Jensen asked.

  
Jared looked thoughtful. "They're both terrible, but I guess with the first one you'd also have the added guilt of hurting the other person."

  
"Yeah, **if** they felt guilty that is," Jensen muttered.

  
Jared looked confused at the comment. He had figured out by this point that Jensen had had one if not more failed relationships with men that had ended poorly. It seemed like there was a particular one that still seemed raw, and he knew the other man was pretty private about his feelings but he wished that Jensen would just open up about it.

  
Jensen grabbed the remote and switched the movie off. "Well I think we should watch something happy before I send you home depressed. I don't want you having dreams of sad cowboys."

  
"Thanks for looking out," Jared said smiling. "What do you have in mind?''

  
"Have you ever watched _Bob's Burgers_?" Jensen asked.

  
Jared shook his head. "Then we'll start from the beginning. Settle in Jared, and get ready to meet the Belchers," Jensen said turning on the first episode.

 

 

They spent a few more hours that night watching cartoons before Jared went home. The next day in rehearsal they began learning the dance that Jensen had put together. Some parts came easier than others, and Jared seemed to be having trouble with his arms in particular.

  
"It's important to keep your frame strong, that's one of the things Mark always notices," Jensen said.

  
"Are you going to _Dirty Dancing_ me?" Jared asked.

  
"What?"

  
"You know, when Patrick Swayze is telling Jennifer Grey to stop with her spaghetti arms," Jared explained.

  
"Are you a big _Dirty Dancing_ fan Jared? I can try to work the lift into one of the dances if you'd like," Jensen joked.

  
"It's my sister's favorite movie. She'd probably love if you could put the lift in. As long as I get to be Baby."

  
"I thought you didn't **want** me to make you the girl," Jensen said.

  
Jared shrugged. "Well I'm opening myself up to new opportunities. Plus if you could actually lift **me** like that I'd bow down and volunteer to be the girl."

  
"I like the sound of that. I'll work on it," Jensen said. "But for now let's work on **this** dance and **this** movie."

  
He took Jared's arms again. "Why don't we try it with me leading this time?" He began walking Jared through the motions of the dance, keeping a firm grip on his arms. Jared seemed to be doing a lot better when Jensen was leading him, which came as sort of a surprise for someone who so stubbornly did not want to be led before this.

  
After another hour or so it seemed like Jared was really starting to pick up on the waltz.

  
"You're doing great Jared. So now to end it we'll do a short segment with an arm extension, leading into a turn into a brief embrace, then part and walk off in separate directions. Sound good?" Jensen asked.

"Um... are we going to have to kiss?" Jared asked.

  
"Have you ever kissed a guy before?" Jensen asked, trying to look nonchalant.

  
"I kissed Chad on a dare before. That was enough to make me never want to do it again," Jared laughed.

  
"I'd love to meet this guy, he sounds great. And no, we don't have to kiss, but it is going to be close," Jensen admitted.

  
"How close?"

  
"Let me show you."

  
Jensen took his hand again and executed the moves that he had been describing. He pulled Jared in close with an arm firm on his waist. He brought their faces close together for a few beats and then pulled away.

  
"That ok?" Jensen asked.

  
Jared swallowed. "Uh yeah. It'll be fine."

  
"Alright then, let's try running it through from the beginning."

  
They ran through the dance from the beginning several times, but even though he said he was ok with the movements, Jared seemed to be having a hard time keeping the correct form for the tone of the dance.

  
"You're still too stiff. You need to relax in this part, it's supposed to be passionate and heated, but also there needs to be a level of ease. It's a relationship, lovers, friends, soulmates," Jensen stated.

  
They struggled for a few more minutes before Jensen suggested they take a short break. They sat on the studio steps drinking water and Jared was snacking on some salted pistachios.

  
"Why couldn't we have gotten like...Captain America and Bucky Barnes?"

  
"I don't really think that would be any less intimate," Jensen said laughing.

  
"You don't think that...Cap and Bucky?!" Jared exclaimed.

  
"Have you **seen** the trailer for _Civil War_ Jared?" Jensen argued.

  
"He just wants to protect his friend."

  
Jensen shook his head. "When this is over, you and I are watching _First Avenger_ and _Winter Soldier_ , and I'm going to show you all the reasons why you should admit Stucky is real."

  
They started the dance again from the beginning and Jared tried to take Jensen's advice to relax. It was hard to reconcile the concept of keeping a strong frame but making sure it didn't look too stiff. He focused on keeping his grip on his partner and allowing him to lead him around the floor. As they finished Jensen smiled at him.

"That was really good Jared. I think if we keep practicing like that it's going to be a good week."

 

The night of the performances the backstage was buzzing with energy. Jared had taken a lot of ribbing from Jason and Jim Beaver because of the dance and song they had gotten, but he was handling it with good natured humor. He was happy because it meant that the costume choice was jeans and a flannel, so he got to go back to his Texas roots for the night. As usual he stood cheering on the other competitors until it was their turn to dance. After Kim and Misha's routine, which Jensen admitted was awesome, they got ready to take the floor.

Jensen looked Jared in the face as they took their positions. "You ok cowboy?" 

"I'm good. I just..." Jared trailed off.

"What Jared?" Jensen asked.

"I wish I knew how to quit you," Jared said, trying to sound serious.

Jensen snorted. "You little shit."

  
The music started and they began their dance, starting apart and coming together in the center of the stage.Jensen took Jared's hand and they got into hold, and he led Jared easily around the floor. It was clear that the actor had become much more comfortably being led by his professional partner. Despite his initial reservations it seemed natural to follow Jensen's lead. As  they came to the ending moments of the dance Jensen pulled Jared in close to him. Their faces were closer than in rehearsal and Jared naturally angled his head down so their foreheads touched. _We don't have to kiss_ , he thought. _So why do I feel like we should?_ His thought was interrupted as Jensen pulled back and they walked off in opposite directions as planned and the dance ended.

  
As the applause began they ran back over to one another.

"That was good right? It felt good," Jared said.

"Yeah Jay, it was good."

Richard waved them over to him and the judges table. "I want to chat with you guys about the performance but I'm being told we're pressed for time already. So let's head to the judges starting with Mark Sheppard," Rich said.

  
"That was...very interesting to watch. It was very clever choreography on your part Jensen, and I think it paid off. I don't think you're quite there yet Jared, but I'll tell you what. Each week you're coming back and getting better and better."

  
"I got a little teary there for a minute. I thought that was beautiful. Excellent storytelling again this week. Jared make sure though that you keep your behind tucked in though, you kind of push it out when you're in hold. Other than that I loved it." Alaina said.

  
"So make sure you're watching his butt Jensen," Richard remarked. "And lastly, Sebastian."

  
"This isn't an easy thing to do, especially for someone in your position. And you very easily could have balked at the challenge you were given but you didn't. You managed to capture the romance and heartbreak of that story in the short time that you danced. Good work."

  
Jensen and Jared thanked the judges for their comments and headed up to the balcony to talk to Felicia.

  
"Hey guys, great job! How do you think it went?"

  
"I think it went really well. I actually don't know that I could have done any better than that," Jared replied.

  
"Good answer, let's not waste time and get those scores then. Sebastian Roche 8, Alaina Huffman 8, and Mark Sheppard...8! 24!"

  
Jared smiled and hugged Jensen.

  
"Are you guys worried about next week's Switch Up?" Felicia asked when they broke apart.

  
"I'm not. You know it'll be hard to be with someone else instead of each other after spending so much time together, but I'm sure whoever he gets will treat him right," Jensen answered.

  
"Well we have to make it through elimination first right?" Jared asked.

  
"Yeah...about that. I have some news for you that you might be interested in. You guys are safe tonight," Felicia said.

  
"Wait what?" Jared asked.

  
"You're safe!"

  
Jared hugged Jensen again, picking him up. Jensen just laughed and let it happen, he was too happy to care that Jared was manhandling him on national television. As he put him down he realized that this meant he would indeed be faced with giving Jared over to another pro for a week. He hoped to God or whoever was up there that it would be Danneel or Matt or Osric but he knew that most likely it would be a woman, so he prayed it was Danneel. _Please just don't let it be Sandy_ , he thought. Sandy had taken every opportunity to be all over Jared, praising him for his performances, asking for help carrying props to her car, and each time it made Jensen want to slap her smug face.

  
As the show wound down and Jim and Alona were eliminated, Jensen was more on edge. Alona would have been a great Switch Up partner for Jared, she was a good, patient choreographer and knew how to teach as to not overstep boundaries. He was now fairly sure that since the Switch Up was chosen by the fans they were going to want to see Jared with a woman to see what he was capable of. Alona's elimination left Danneel, Gen, and Sandy as choices. Jared could tell something was bothering his partner, but there was no time to ask what was wrong.

  
Everyone gathered on the stage after the performances and Rich came out with an envelope. "Ok I have everyone's Switch Up partnerships here. Rob you'll be working with Danneel."

  
Jensen felt his heart sink as his best friend got chosen to work with someone who wasn't Jared. _Well at least there's still Gen. And hey they could still pick another guy._

  
" Rachel will be working with Misha, Briana you will be with Matt, Kim you will be partnered with Jensen," Rich continued.

  
Kim gave Jensen a smile and a wave, and he attempted a small smile back, still too nervous for Jared's fate.

  
"Jason you will be with Osric. And Mark you will be with Gen."

  
_Shit_ , Jensen thought. _That means..._

  
"That leaves Jared with Sandy."

  
_Fuck. Anyone else, it could have been anyone else._

  
Jensen started feeling sick to his stomach. Jared had been pulled aside by Jason who wanted to know all about how to get his partner to not treat him like a woman. His spot was quickly filled by Sandy who was smiling at him smugly.

  
"Hmmm. How the tables have turned. Guess **I** won't be the one worrying about keeping an eye on my partner this season huh Jensen?"

  
Jensen felt the pit in his stomach growing. "Sandy, I'm sorry about that, but look, you won. Don't take any issues with me out on Jared."

  
"Oh baby I wouldn't dream of that. On the contrary, I'm looking forward to working with him. Late nights, close quarters, really brings people together don't you think? I see the way you look at him. Everyone sees it, they'd have to be blind or dumb not to. But you're fooling yourself Jensen. You can't win. Not the competition, and not him. All I'm going to do is show him what he's missing out on, and I'm going to give him what you can't."

  
As Sandy walked away Jensen was seeing red. He had to go and sit down to stop from passing out. He couldn't believe that she basically just admitted she was going to try to seduce Jared as payback. He understood why she had a problem with him, but she didn't need to bring Jared into it. Jared was too good and kind to be pulled into this. _Should I warn him?_ Jensen wondered. _But how are you even going to bring that up? Oh hey, this hot girl might try to sleep with you to get back at me. What for? Oh, I don't want to get into it. That's ridiculous. Jared's a big boy and he can take care of himself._

  
"Jensen? Are you ok? You look pale."

  
Jensen looked up and saw Matt standing there with Osric, both had concerned looks on their faces.

  
"Yeah I'm fine, I just got a little light headed," Jensen replied.

  
"You want me to get you a water or protein bar or something? I have some in my bag," Osric offered.

Osric went off to get his bag and Matt sat down with Jensen.

  
"He's not lying man, you look like shit," Matt said.

  
"Thanks Matt."

  
"Well I know you wouldn't sugarcoat it for me, so I try to return the favor."

  
"You make a good point," Jensen said smiling weakly.

  
"So what's really wrong? I think I have some idea, but I'd like to hear it from you."

  
"I'm worried about Jared being paired with Sandy."

  
"I thought so. I saw your face when Rich announced the Switch Up pairs. Are you afraid he won't do well with her?"

  
"That's the least of my worries. She just threw it in my face that she's going to try to fuck him to hurt me."

  
"So I guess she's still upset about..."

  
Jensen cut him off. "I don't want to talk about it."

  
Matt took a deep breath. "Have you told Jared?"

  
"Hasn't really come up in conversation. I don't want him to think any less of me, and honestly I didn't know that things would turn this direction."

  
"So you're just going to let him walk into it blindly and let that harpy get her claws in him?" Matt asked.

  
"What am I supposed to do Matt?"

  
"I don't know. I guess just tell him to be careful and hope that he's smart enough to see through her act."

  
Osric returned with a water for Jensen which he accepted gratefully. They all sat for a few more minutes discussing their ideas for their Switch Up partners. Matt was partnered with Brianna so he was discussing her strengths with Osric, and since Osric had gotten Jason as a partner, he wanted to pick Jensen's brain on working with another man as a partner. They said their goodbyes and Jared wandered back over to Jensen.

  
"You ok Jen? You had me worried there for a minute."

  
"I'm fine. I just...Jared, promise me something?"

  
"What? You're getting me worried again."

  
"Be careful with Sandy."

  
Jared smiled. "That's what this is about? Jensen I know she's a lot smaller than you but I have been around women before, I'm not going to hurt her."

  
"I'm serious Jared. I did something that she...she doesn't like me very much ok? And I'm worried that she's going to take it out on you. I just don't want you to get hurt."

  
"Jensen I'm going to be fine. And it's only a week with her."

  
"Then humor me and say you'll be careful."

  
"I'll be careful. Now come on, Jason said if we come out for pizza right now he's buying."

  
Jared walked out of the building and Jensen got up to follow him. _He really has no idea what he's getting into. I deserve what she wants to throw at me because of Jeff, but Jared didn't do anything. This is exactly the kind of reason why he shouldn't be with someone like me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided that I'm going to drop hints about all of my OTPS in this fic, just because I can. Stucky is one of my newest, and quickly becoming one of the my top ships.


	5. Week 5: The Switch Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Week 5 separates Jensen and Jared for the Switch Up. Jared is dancing with Sandy, leaving Jensen to worry about how she's going to enact her revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I'm pretty partial to it. Warning that things do heat up in this one.

_**Week 5: The Switch Up** _

  
The week of the Switch Up was stressful for many reasons. Jensen was already upset at being away from Jared, but being forced to watch him with Sandy the Maneater was even worse. On top of that he was trying to work around Kim's schedule which was much different from Jared's given that she had acting projects and a kid to take care of as well. He was waiting for her in the rehearsal studio with Danneel while trying to subtly spy on Jared.

  
"Jensen, did you ask to be in studio 6 because you can look down into studio 2 where Jared is rehearsing with Sandy?" Danneel asked.

  
"What? No! That's crazy. I didn't even remember that you could see down there. I just picked it because I...like the mirrors in this room," Jensen lied.

  
Danneel looked skeptical. "Uh huh. So you're not spying at all?"

  
"Nope. I have no interest in what's going on down there."

  
"Ok...so what dance are they doing?" Danneel asked.

  
"The fucking Rumba!" Jensen burst out.

  
"Geez Jensen, be quiet! You don't want them to hear you. Then we won't be able to keep spying," Danneel said pulling him over to the railing. As the music started, Danneel smirked. "Wicked Game, how appropriate."

"Shhh!"

  
They quietly stood and looked down at the other couple. The dance they were doing was highly intimate and Sandy was wrapped around Jared like a snake. She pressed her hips against his and gyrated slowly.

  
"Ok, don't be afraid to hold me tighter," Sandy said pulling Jared's arm around her. "Remember, the Rumba is the dance of love. So think romance, seduction, foreplay."

  
Jensen stood seething with anger as he and Danneel watched Sandy and Jared practice their dance. He wanted to go down there and rip her hair out for touching Jared, but he knew he couldn't do that. He just stepped away from the railing so he wouldn't have to watch anymore.

  
"Why couldn't he have gotten you? Or Gen? Even fucking Misha," Jensen grumbled.

  
"It's going to be fine Jensen. You'll get him back next week. Besides, what do you think is going to happen?"

  
"Nothing. I don't know."

  
"Are you jealous of her?" Danneel asked.

  
"No," Jensen answered quickly. "I just don't like how handsy she is."

  
"Oh Jensen honey, you **are** jealous. You're falling for him," Danneel said looking him in the eyes.

  
"I'm not. That would be stupid. He's my partner, and he's straight," Jensen argued.

  
"Well according to Misha, like 75% of so called straight guys are kind of bisexual."

  
Jensen snorted. "That number sounds completely made up."

  
"I'm just saying, sometimes when you guys are dancing, and staring deep into each others eyes...straight or not I think he might at least be a little Jensensexual."

  
The pair were interrupted by Kim coming into the studio. They said hello, and Danneel left to go meet up with Rob. They began to warm up and Kim could tell Jensen wasn't his normal self.

  
"What's wrong Ackles? You're more grumpy and pensive than usual," Kim asked.

  
"I'm not grumpy," Jensen argued.

  
"Well maybe not normally. That's my point."

  
"I hate the Switch Up," Jensen mumbled.

  
"Well thanks!" Kim said with a laugh.

 

"No it's not you. Dancing with you is the only part I'm actually enjoying. I just..."

  
"You miss Jared and you don't like seeing him with someone else."

  
"Yeah, but we're all protective over our partners. I'm sure Misha feels the same way about you."

  
"Yeah right. Don't get me wrong, Misha and I get along great, he's like the weird brother I never had. But I'm pretty sure he paid to get partnered with Rachel. He's having the time of his life. He said he finds her very inspiring. They're working on a dance that tells the story of a demon who falls in love with an angel."

  
"And let me guess, she's his angel?" Jensen asked.

  
"No she's the **demon**."

  
Jensen looked thoughtful. "That actually sounds pretty cool. Don't tell Misha I said that."

  
"Your secret is safe with me. So what do you have planned for us?" Kim asked.

  
"We have Foxtrot. And I tried really hard to pick a song I knew you'd like, so I took a look at your Spotify playlist."

  
"You sneaky little...what did you pick? Hopefully not something from my embarrassing collection."

  
Jensen laughed. "No. I don't think so anyway. It's "All of Me" by John Legend."

  
"I love that song!"

  
"I was hoping you'd say that. I've got some ideas I think are pretty good. It'a going to be very elegant, but with enough flair to keep it from getting boring."

  
"Sounds great," Kim replied.

  
Jensen began teaching her the dance he'd been working on. It was strange teaching a dance to someone who wasn't Jared, but luckily Kim was a quick learner. Jensen had thought from the beginning that she had a good chance at winning the whole competition, and her work this week was no exception. If she did win she deserved it for all her effort. He was having a really good time with her until her heard a noise from downstairs. It had sounded like Sandy screaming, so he subtly peeked over the railing. The other pair must have been taking a lunch break, and Jared was teasing Sandy, dangling what looked like beef lo mein in her face. She was giggling and squealing, trying to get away from it, but Jared, being much larger than her, was making it difficult. Had the situation been different, it may have been cute, but the fact that it was Sandy, who had already expressed her intent to defile Jared, made Jensen want to shove that lo mein down her throat til she choked.

  
Jensen pulled back from the balcony and went back to dancing with Kim, but his attention now was a little scattered. He tried to concentrate on the dance but he kept hearing Sandy's high-pitched giggle in his head, and picturing her hands on his chest, pulling him close. After the third time he accidentally stepped on Kim's foot, she pulled away.

  
"Hey! What's going on? All of a sudden you're...all over the place."

  
"I'm sorry, I really am trying to focus. I love the Foxtrot, and I'm really excited dance it with you. You're doing great."

  
"But you're still thinking about Jared," Kim finished.

  
"Yes." Jensen admitted.

  
"Have you talked to him at all?" Kim asked

  
"I don't want him to know how worried I am."

  
"Why don't you just shoot him a text or something? Ask how it's going. That's easy. You can get some solace and then we can get back to work." Kim thought for a moment. "Tell you what, I'm going to run out and get us some smoothies, you text Jared, and when I get back we're going to Foxtrot until we can't trot anymore."

  
Kim left the studio and Jensen walked over to pick up his phone. He sat for a few minutes just staring at his contact screen and Jared's name.

  
_Be a big boy Jensen. You're not a twelve year old girl texting her crush. Well you're not a girl anyway._

  
**Jensen** : Rehearsal's not the same without you. I had to finish my own lunch today because I didn't have you to beg for the scraps.

  
He didn't have to wait long for a response. They must have still been on break.

  
**Jared:** Haha. What can I say, I'm a growing boy. How is the rest of your life going being without me?

**Jensen:** I'm lucky Kim is so understanding, working with you has made me completely forget how to treat a lady.

**Jared:** Like you ever knew how to do that.  
**Jensen:** How are your rehearsals?  
**Jared:** They're good! Sandy is great. I'm having a lot of fun.

  
Jensen felt his heart sink when he read that text. He didn't want Jared to think she was great. Sure he was happy she wasn't making Jared's life miserable, but he also didn't want her worming her way into his pants either.

  
**Jared:** She's a really hands on teacher. But she said with our dance it's really important to be comfortable with the intimate touching and stuff.  
**Jensen:** And are you comfortable?

  
_Please say no, please say no._

  
**Jared** : It's not the same as it is with you.

  
_Yes!_

  
**Jared:** It's just weird. Like obviously she's beautiful, and sexy, and this is a sexy dance, but it feels strange doing it in front of people. I mean I wouldn't kick her out of bed, but that's completely different than dancing on live television.  
**Jensen:** So you like her?  
**Jared:** Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I'll talk to you about it another time. I gotta go, we're done our break.

  
Jensen's heart felt like it was shattering. He heard a beep and looked down at his phone again.

  
**Jared** : I miss you Jen :)

  
_Maybe there still is hope_. Jensen thought, smiling to himself.

 

 

The night of the live performances couldn't have come quick enough for Jensen. He and Kim had danced second, and everything had gone really well. The judges had a lot of positive comments for her and scored them well. The nice thing about dancing so early was that normally you got to relax for the rest of the night, but because Jared was dancing second to last, Jensen was spending his time trying not to look like he was spying on his partner.

  
Jared was joking around with Sandy backstage. He picked up the petite brunette and threw her over his shoulder. She kicked until Jared set her down, and playfully punched him, letting her hands linger on his chest. Jensen turned away and pretended to focus on tying his shoes.

  
"I don't know what she thinks she's going to accomplish."

  
Jensen lifted his head and saw Misha looking past him at Jared and Sandy.

  
"Who, Sandy?"

  
"Yes. If she's trying to get him into bed I think she's barking up the wrong tree."

  
"Misha I told you before that he's straight."

  
"And I told you that doesn't mean anything. We love who we love. And that guy?" Misha said pointing at Jared, "He is so gone for you that I don't even think he's realized it yet."

  
"You're crazy," Jensen said shaking his head.

  
"I'm a keen observer of the human spirit Jensen. And you don't see the way he looks at you when you're not looking. It's like you're Christmas and his birthday and the Superbowl all rolled into one. That's part of the reason I stopped hitting on him."

  
"Only part of? What's the other part?" Jensen asked.

  
Misha turned at nodded his head at the balcony where Rachel was standing. She was looking absolutely stunning in the red feathered dress she had worn for their Viennese Waltz.

  
Jensen smiled. "You really like her huh? Kim joked that you paid them off to get paired with her."

  
"I do. She's more than I could have imagined or expected," Misha said quietly.

  
"Does she know?"

  
"I think the dance I choreographed as tribute to her beautiful spirit might have been a clue, but then people have been known to be oblivious."

  
"It was a really good dance. The story was beautiful, it was a nice twist on the typical bad girl falls for a good boy and he makes her better tale. And I think your feelings really shone through, It had a lot of emotional depth," Jensen said sincerely.

  
"Thanks Jensen. It means a lot coming from you. I know you're not usually a fan of my theatrics. And thank you for taking such good care of Kim. It certainly made for an easier week knowing she was in good hands."

  
"Well, that's arguable," Kim said walking over.

  
"Hey I got you two 8's and a 9!" Jensen protested.

  
"I know, and thank you. I'm just glad there's not an elimination this week. It made it so much easier to dance without that hanging over my head."

  
"But then we only have one more week with our original partners before the double elimination," Jensen pointed out.

  
"True, it'll be nice to get back to normal though," Kim said.

  
"Well I for one am sad that the Switch Up is almost over," Misha said glancing at Rachel. "I should probably go spend some time with my partner, show some solidarity."

  
"Yeah, enjoy the rest of your night, because next week you're stuck with me again," Kim said as he walked away. She turned back to Jensen. "So are you going to miss me next week Ackles?"

  
"I think I am actually."

  
Kim made a face. "Uh huh, right. You'll be so happy to have Jared back you won't even remember I exist."

  
"I just hope he's as eager to be back with me after being with her," Jensen said quietly.

  
"You worry too much."

  
Jensen heard them announce Jared and Sandy's dance was up next and he felt himself getting nervous.

  
"I still can't believe she got his Rumba," Jensen muttered.

  
"She certainly has been relishing it. But come on, let's go cheer your boy on."

  
Jensen didn't even bother to argue that Jared wasn't his boy. He and Kim moved over to the balcony to stand with Rachel and Misha to watch Jared and Sandy. As he watched the dance, and Sandy running her hands all over Jared's body, he wanted to throw up.

  
The dance was one of the more intimate Rumbas he'd seen on the show. In his completely unbiased opinion it was bordering on raunchy, but he knew that the audience was going to love it. Jared was shirtless and Sandy was wearing next to nothing. As she wrapped herself all around him and Jared took her in his strong arms, Jensen found it hard not to look away. He knew that he had to do the right thing and support his partner, but honestly he couldn't wait til it was over. As the dance came near to the end there were several moments where Jared pulled Sandy in close.

  
_He's not going to do it is he? He wouldn't. She would_ , Jensen thought.

  
Their faces were almost touching at this point.

  
Jensen was all but praying for the song to just end so nothing could happen. _Don't do it Jared_.

  
Sandy brushed her lips over Jared's briefly and the crowd went wild. Jensen squeezed the railing so hard he thought that he was going to break it. He knew that it probably wasn't Jared's idea and he only did it because he knew the fans would like it, but it was still sending him into a spiral of jealousy.

  
When the song ended the audience did in fact go crazy with cheering. Sandy gave Jared a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before Rich pointed them over to the judges table. The first one to talk was Sebastian.

  
"Jared it's very nice to see you as a leading man. I think this was a very good opportunity for you to grow as a dancer. I really liked the dance itself, I think the two of you mesh very well together. I'll also add that I think you should do all of your dances shirtless," Sebastian said with a laugh.

  
_Ok, not bad. He liked Jared and that's what's important,_ Jensen rationalized.

  
"Geez, get a room you two! That was one of the sexiest Rumbas I've seen in a long time. The chemistry between you guys is great. Jared, you're really coming along as a dancer, and I loved the opportunity to see the contrast between your movements with Sandy and when you dance with Jensen," Alaina said.

  
_Come on Alaina, I thought we were friends_ , Jensen thought, anxiously running his fingers through his hair.

"And finally let's go to Mark Sheppard," Richard said.

  
"To be honest it was a little too sexualized for me. The Rumba is the dance of love, not just sex. It was a good dance don't get me wrong, but for me it was missing an element of romance," Mark began.

  
_Yes! Humping on the dance floor is not a Rumba!_

  
"That being said I thought it was a very good dance. I agree with these other two, I think this has been a very good opportunity for you to learn how to dance in a different way. I can't help but wonder how this competition would have been different for you if you'd been paired with Sandy from the beginning."

  
_No Mark!_

  
"I would also like to add that I look forward to seeing you back with Jensen next week, I'm interested to see how you take your experience this week and utilize it within your partnership. I think it's really going to help you."

  
_Ok, calm down Jensen, you're still in this, they don't hate you guys. Mark wants to see you back._

  
Jensen had been leaned over the railing listening intently to the judges comments, and as Sandy and Jared made their way up the stairs Jensen moved over to the steps to greet them. He gave Jared a quick hug before Felicia came over to ask them a few questions.

  
"So Jared, great job tonight. Think I saw some steam coming off that dance floor. The judges said they liked seeing you dancing with Sandy, you obviously were enjoying yourself, do you wish that you had been partnered with a woman from the start?" Felicia asked.

  
"You know, it's a completely different dynamic. Sandy and Jensen are both great dancers and partners and I've been very fortunate so far in this competition to have worked with them," Jared answered.

  
"Sandy that dance was hot. Your choreography was smoking," Felicia said.

  
"What can I say? Jared is the type of man you want to choreograph a sexy rumba for," Sandy giggled, clutching Jared's arm.

  
"That's for sure," Felicia agreed. "Let's get the scores for your sexy butts."

  
Jensen watched as all three judges held up 9's. He sighed, both happy that Jared had done well, but jealous that it had been without him. He turned back to congratulate Jared and saw Sandy wrapped around him, planting a kiss on his cheek, narrowly missing his mouth.

  
"Alright guys, so a score of 27! Jared your highest score of the competition! So what's next? I know America is probably hoping for another kiss, maybe a date. Any chance of that?" Felicia asked.

  
Sandy giggled and batted her eyes at Jared who looked down and blushed. "I don't know, I guess it depends on what Sandy is doing after the show."

  
"Hopefully **you** ," Sandy joked.

  
Jensen was so angry and jealous that he was seeing red. He stalked off to the green rooms to get changed. Since there was no elimination, there was no reason that he had to stick around. Certainly not to watch Jared flirting with Sandy. He grabbed his bag and left the studio as quickly as possible before anyone could stop him to ask what was wrong.

 

 

Jensen heard his doorbell ring about an hour after he arrived home. He was surprised when he opened the door to see Jared on his porch.

  
"I thought you were going out with Sandy."

  
"I was mostly just letting them talk. Letting them get excited at the prospect of something."

  
"So you aren't attracted to her?" Jensen asked.

  
"I mean sure she's hot. But to be honest with you she has crazy eyes," Jared replied.

  
"What?"

  
"She has those eyes that you look into them and you just know she's going to be possessive and crazy."

  
Jensen snorted and shook his head. "You're ridiculous." Jensen walked into the house and Jared followed him.

  
"Are you actually pissed about tonight?" Jared asked.

  
"Yeah I'm actually pissed."

  
"Why? Becayse I said I liked dancing with her? Because I let everyone think I want to date her?"

  
"Forget it," Jensen said, turning to walk away.

  
Jared caught his arm. "No, I'm not going to forget it. Why are you mad at me?"

  
"I'm not mad at you. I'm just jealous I guess," Jensen admitted.

  
"Jealous of what?"

  
Jensen turned and looked Jared directly in the eyes. "I want you to want to dance with **me**. And I don't like seeing you dance with somebody else ok? Especially not when it's some pretty little thing who is putting her hands all over you and touching you the way I want to," Jensen blurted out.

  
"And what way is that?" Jared asked, not breaking eye contact with Jensen.

  
"Like this," Jensen said, grabbing the collar of Jared's shirt and pulling him in for a kiss.

  
As their lips met Jared let out a small noise of surprise. He hadn't been expecting the kiss, but now that he felt Jensen's lips on his, it didn't feel weird at all. It wasn't anything like when he'd kissed Chad. Jensen's mouth was soft and warm and he tasted like the cinnamon gum he was so fond of chewing. As Jensen broke the kiss, he pulled back and looked at Jared.

  
"I'm sorry for just doing that, but watching you tonight, watching Sandy paw at you...it made me kind of crazy. I don't want things to be weird but..."

  
"Can you kiss me again?" Jared interrupted.

  
Relief flooded Jensen's face and he grinned. "Yeah. I'll kiss you again sweetheart."

  
Jensen took Jared's face in his hands and pulled him down to gently brush their lips together. He pulled away briefly before kissing Jared again with more passion. He wanted to remove any trace that Sandy had ever been there. He ran his tongue across the other man's lips, begging for entrance, which Jared eagerly granted. As the kiss intensified Jensen wrapped his arm around Jared's waist. He realized they were still standing in the foyer, and walked them into the living room. He wasn't sure where this was going, but decided he might as well take the lead, and hope that Jared was ok with what was happening. He sat back onto the couch pulling Jared down on top of him. They continued making out on the couch for what seemed like an eternity, and as far as Jensen was concerned, this would be a hell of a way to spend eternity. His head was spinning, he was so worked up and he could feel Jared's hard length against him. He squeezed Jared's ass, who let out a little moan into his mouth. After several more minutes Jared pulled away and sat up, catching his breath.

  
"You're right. We should probably slow down. Do you want to stop?" Jensen asked looking at Jared in concern.

  
"No, please. I want..." Jared cut himself off by surging forward and kissing Jensen deeply. He ground his hips downward, eliciting a groan from Jensen as their erections pressed against each other through their jeans. Jensen palmed Jared's ass, pulling him close with each roll of their hips. He couldn't believe this was finally happening, and he was almost embarrassed that he was so close to coming already, but something about Jared just drove him crazy. He was determined to make sure Jared climaxed before him, and bucked his hips upward.

  
"God, you're so beautiful. You like this?" Jensen asked nibbling the shell of Jared's ear.

  
"Jen, feels so good," Jared groaned.

  
"Yeah, it's supposed to. Wanna make you feel so good all the time."

  
"I'm gonna..." Jared began, frantically thrusting against the other man.

  
"It's ok, do it Jared. I want to see you lose it," Jensen cooed.

  
"Fuck," Jared panted. "I want you to come too."

  
"Oh that's not going to be a problem baby boy."

  
Jared gave one last slow grind into Jensen and came with his face buried in Jensen's neck and clutching at his arm for dear life. Jensen followed soon after, with the best orgasm he'd had in years. He kissed the top of Jared's head and gently shifted him to a more comfortable position against his chest. They lay there in silence, Jensen lightly running his fingers through Jared's hair.

  
"You're a really good kisser," Jared mumbled into the other man's pec.

  
Jensen chuckled. "Thanks. I really like kissing you too."

  
"And you're comfy too."

  
"You're cute when you're all blissed out. And so agreeable. I bet I could get you to say yes to anything I wanted to do for next weeks dance."

  
"No sequins," Jared said pulling his head up.

  
Jensen smiled at him. "Ok, no sequins. Now as much as I'd like to stay like this all night, we should really get uh...cleaned up. Why don't you take a shower and I'll make us something to eat?"

  
"Ok."

  
"Pasta sound good to you?" Jensen asked.

  
"Sounds great."

  
Jared rolled off the couch and stood up. He leaned down to kiss Jensen softly before heading into the bathroom. As Jensen watched him go his mind began racing. So many questions about where this was going, and how it would affect their partnership were now flashing in front of him. He just hoped this wasn't a huge mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When this story eventually ends I'm going to post a playlist of all the songs that were mentioned in the story. This chapter in particular has some good ones. A lot of the dances/songs mentioned are inspired by actual dances from DWTS, so if you're interested in checking them out, they're all on Youtube. Jensen and Kim's Foxtrot was inspired by Meryl/Maks, one of my favorite dances ever. The song Misha and Rachel danced to wasn't mentioned, but for imagination purposes it's "Roses and Violets" by Alexander Jean. And Sandy's dirty Rumba had some inspiration from a Contemporary dance that Val/Tamar did, but really just the song. Something about the song "Wicked Game" just makes me feel dirty. Take a listen to the version by James Vincent McMorrow.
> 
> And yes, I am a Megstiel fan.


	6. Week 6: Jive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared and Jensen come face to face after their night together. The week brings a hectic rehearsal schedule, angst, and Jensen's secret revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this update has taken so long. This chapter was by far the hardest to write. When I write I sometimes end up bouncing around between future chapters, which is exactly what happened with this one. The good news then is that there's lots written for future chapters. Thanks to everyone who has been sticking with this, and leaving encouragement, and bookmarking etc.

_**Week 6: Jive** _

  
Training the week after their encounter was more difficult than Jensen had anticipated. Jared had an audition in New York, and Jensen had a charity event with the troupe in Portland, so their rehearsal schedule got cut almost in half. They had Skyped a few times, Jensen had practiced the dance with Matt in an effort to show Jared the moves, but the process wasn't ideal. Luckily there were a lot of aspects of the dance that Jared could do on his own, but it was certainly a stressful situation, especially with the impending double elimination. He was anxious for them to get back in the studio, but also a little nervous since they hadn't seen each other since that night. After Jared had gotten out of the shower they had eaten some pasta and then he had to leave to go home and let Sadie out.

  
The day of their first rehearsal back together, Jared waited anxiously for Jensen. He'd been worried about seeing him all week, and was afraid that things would be weird between them. He hopped up when he saw the other man come into the studio. They shared an awkward hug, not sure whether to kiss or shake hands or what. They broke apart and Jared looked at the floor.

  
"How was your week?" Jared asked.

  
"It was good. We visited a children's hospital and did some performances for them. It's fun getting to see the kids, make them happy, even if it's only for a little while you know?"

  
_He's amazing_ , Jared thought. _Has his face always lit up that way when he talks about kids? It's like the fucking sun._

  
"What about you? How did the audition go?" Jensen asked.

  
"I think it went well. I really hope I get it, it's a great script. And it got me thinking about maybe trying some writing again."

  
''That's great. You'll have to tell me all about it," Jensen said sincerely. They stood silently, and the Jensen cleared his throat. "Well I guess we should get to work since we're so far behind. You can tell me about your week over lunch. Now how much do you remember from what I showed you with Matt?"

  
"I think I got a lot of it down. I'm definitely going to need some practice on the turns though. I couldn't quite master them on my own."

  
"Alright, then let's start there. Show me what you got," Jensen said.

 

They only had one real day of training and practice before the blocking and stage rehearsals, and while it was obvious that both men had a lot on their minds, they were too busy learning the dance to dwell on it. It was good in the sense that it left them unable to address the elephant in the room, but it also had left them in an awkward "will they/won't they" limbo. Jared vowed to address it after the live show when they could get some alone time together. The night of the live show he couldn't sit still he was so worried about their dance. He hadn't been this nervous since the first week.

  
Jensen came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jared, hey, it's gonna be ok. You know the dance don't you?"

  
"Yeah."

  
"Just try to focus on me if that helps you."

  
Jared smiled. "That always helps me."

"Good. Just remember the Jive is a high energy dance, keep the flicks sharp, Mark always looks for that. And keep up your bouncy  puppy energy ok?"

"Not a puppy," Jared mumbled.

"You kind of are," Jensen laughed, pulling him backstage.

They took their places on the floor, and turned to watch the footage of their training from that week. They showed how difficult it had been getting their schedules to sync up, and when they had finally met back up. At one point they cut to an interview with Jared that they must have done after Jensen had left because he didn't remember them doing it. He glanced quickly at Jared whose face had gone pale.

  
"Now that you're back with Jensen, how is it different?" the interviewer asked.

  
"Going back to him after dancing with someone else in the Switch Up is hard, like you just adjusted to working with somebody else, and now you're back having to get used to each other again."

  
"Did you miss Jensen?"

  
Jared laughed, "Sandy kept me pretty busy, so I didn't have much time to miss him. She taught me a lot."

  
"Do you think you'd have a better chance in this competition if you had Sandy as your partner?"

  
"We have a natural chemistry I think. I think I would have done well with her," Jared answered.

  
"Better than with Jensen?"

  
"I don't know about **that**."

  
"So do you miss Sandy now?"

  
"A little bit yeah," Jared said with a chuckle.

  
"Well you could still ask her on that date that America is waiting for."

  
"That's true."

  
As the footage faded out, Jared caught a look at Jensen's face. He looked hurt, almost betrayed. Jared opened his mouth to say something but Jensen just shook his head. He walked away and took his place for their dance.

  
As the music started Jared was caught off guard. He missed his first steps, but tried to get back in the rhythm of the dance. He was able to catch up with the music, and executed his solo section fairly well. His kicks were clean, and he was consistently on beat. He felt good until he glanced at Jensen before their section together. The typical glow in Jensen's eyes wasn't there. The other man was smiling of course, but only with his mouth. The look in his eyes dull, almost dejected. As they came together for the part of the dance where Jared was supposed to spin Jensen, it was clear that they were out of sync.

  
Jared was relieved when the dance was over and Jensen gave him an awkward one armed hug. He could tell that it was only for show, and there was no real affection in it, but he was happy for any contact at all after what had just happened. He walked Jared over to where Richard was standing for their post dance comments.

  
Richard gave Jared a pat on the back. "Good job guys. Looks like you had a tough week, but you pulled through. Let's see what the judges thought. Starting with Miss Alaina Huffman."

  
Alaina looked down at her notepad and then up at them frowning."It wasn't your best dance. The moves were there, but there seemed like there was a kind of disconnect between you. Sometimes I think the Switch Up can help dancers individually, because it shows you what you're capable of, but in your case I think it may have hurt you a little in your partnership. The two of you have such great chemistry, and I was missing that this week."

  
Jared's heart was sinking into the floor. He knew that all of the comments were true. It had been a hard week for them, and tonight had made it obvious how much he needed his connection with Jensen. Watching Jensen's heart break and not having him grinning at him during their dance made it impossible to focus. He needed that dazzling smile encouraging him to succeed.

  
"You know I love you Jared, but I agree with Alaina. Two weeks ago it seemed like you had a really good understanding of how to move together. This week it just wasn't there. The parts where you danced by yourself were great, but once you were together it got a little clunky. It's a hard thing what you're doing, I don't envy you, and it's clear to me that you are improving every week as a dancer," Sebastian said.

  
Mark was the last judge to comment. "What they're saying is correct. Technically it was a good dance. Was it great? No. You just didn't seem focused on each other. I know you had a tough rehearsal week, but it's only going to get tougher from here. If you come back next week, and I hope that you do, find a way back to that way of thinking and moving that you've had in previous weeks."

  
After the last comment Richard turned to Jared and Jensen. "For the sake of time, you guys are just going to get your scores down here with me. Sorry Felicia, I know you're jealous up there, but you get to see them all the time, it's my turn now. So let's get some scores."

  
All three men looked at the judges in sup sense as Richard read the scores aloud. "Alaina Huffman 7, Sebastian Roche 6, and Mark Sheppard 6. So a total of 19 out of 30. America, if they make it through tonight's double elimination they're going to need your votes!"

  
Richard directed them backstage as they went to commercial break, and Jensen stormed away from Jared. Jared was following close on his heels and stopped him in one of the back dressing rooms.

  
"Jensen..."

  
"What the fuck was that?" Jensen asked whirling around.

  
"It's not what it seemed like."

  
"Really? Because it seems like you just told America that you'd rather be dancing with Sandy after you told me that wasn't true. Not to mention after we made out on my couch and came in our pants like fucking teenagers!" Jensen ran a hand through his hair and let out an exasperated sigh. "Jared I didn't want to push you into anything. That's why I kept asking if you wanted to stop." Jensen paused again, taking a deep breath. "I like you and I am attracted to you I can't deny that, but I'm not going to be made a fool of on national television again."

  
Jared looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean **again**?"

  
"Your new girlfriend didn't tell you?" Jensen spat.

  
"Tell me what?"

  
Jensen shook his head in disbelief. "I fucked her partner last season. And she was jealous, that's why she hates me. Even though they still won, she couldn't stand the fact that Jeff would sleep with me over her. And now she's using you to get back at me."

  
"That doesn't make sense. She wouldn't do that."

  
"You don't think so? You barely know her Jared. She's not a nice person. I'm not saying that I haven't done things that I regret or things that were wrong but she's on another level, trust me."

Jared was silent for a moment and Jensen spoke up again. "You know what? If you don't believe me that's fine. I thought you would value my opinion but I guess not."

  
"Of course I value your opinion Jensen!"

  
Jensen sat down with a thud and put his head in his hands. "I don't like acting like this ok? I'm not trying to act like a jealous boyfriend and tell you what to do, but I just don't want to see you get hurt." Jensen paused and contemplated his next words. "Fuck Jared. I like you. And I thought that after the other night maybe you liked me too. But I'm not going to stand here and pretend that we're something when we're not. I won't do it. I don't know where this leaves us now. I'm having a hard time just being around you right now, let alone thinking about dancing with you."

  
"Maybe we'll get eliminated tonight and then you won't have to worry about it anymore," Jared said quietly.

  
Jensen looked up through hurt filled eyes. "I want you to succeed Jared. I want the best for you. Please believe that. I just should have known better than to cross the line between being partners and anything else."

  
Jared just shook his head sadly and walked away. They stayed separated until it came time for the elimination. They gathered on the stage with the other couples and waited for Richard to reveal the results of the double elimination. Jared knew there was a good chance that they could be going home, but he just hoped that he'd have an opportunity to make it up to Jensen for how he acted, or how it seemed like he acted.

  
Richard took center-stage. "As we all know, tonight two couples will be leaving us, so let's get on with the results. The first couple that's safe is Misha and Kim. Also joinging them are Mark and Sandy. The first couple in jeopardy is Jared and Jensen."

  
Jared felt Jensen's arm slip around his waist out of habit.

  
"Briana and Osric you are safe, which leaves all the remaining couples in jeopardy."

  
The spotlights came up on the couples in jeopardy, and Jensen tightened his grip on Jared.

  
"Jason and Danneel, Jared and Jensen, Rob and Gen, Rachel and Matt. While not necessarily the lowest scoring couples, your scores combined with viewer votes have put you in jeopardy. Half of these couples will be going home tonight. And we will find out which ones after the break!" Richard exclaimed as the audience booed.

  
"Can't they just get on with it?" Jared asked exasperatedly.

  
"I didn't realize you were in such a hurry to go home. Is Sandy going to be waiting for you?" Jensen snapped, dropping his hold on Jared.

  
"Jensen. Don't be like that."

  
"Guys we're back on air in thirty seconds," Felicia said leaning over.

  
Jensen stepped back close to Jared but didn't touch him again. Danneel had glanced over during the break and noticed his distress. She placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to give him a reassuring squeeze.

  
"I guess you've waited long enough. The first couple that is safe is... Jason and Danneel!" Richard announced.

  
Jensen and Jared hugged Danneel and Jason and then stepped back to their places to receive the rest of the results.

  
"Jared, the judges have given you positive comments about your improvement, but tonight you seemed to have a disconnect with your partner."

  
Jared held his breath as he heard Rich start to speak again. "Jared and Jensen...you are safe!"

  
Jared flung his arms around Jensen. He knew that Rich was announcing that his friends were going home, but all he could think about was that he had another week with Jensen. Everyone exchanged hugs and kisses with the eliminated couples. Poor Misha was beside himself at Rachel's elimination and had wrapped her in one of the tightest hugs Jared had ever seen. When all the goodbyes were said, Jared followed Jensen to the dressing room to get his stuff.

  
"I know you're upset with me. But for what it's worth I'm really glad we didn't get eliminated. I really want to win this, and I can't do it without you. As for the other thing..." Jared began.

  
Jensen interrupted him. "I will keep dancing with you, and help and support you as your partner, but beyond that...I can't be anything else to you."

  
"You can't even be my friend?" Jared asked

  
Jensen looked at him sadly. "I think being your friend would hurt too much."

 

After Jensen left him standing in the dressing room, Jared had grabbed his things and headed out. As he got into his car, he knew he didn't want to go home, and he probably shouldn't go to a bar, so he went to the best place he could think of.

  
"Dude you look like shit man," Chad said when he opened the door.

  
Jared didn't even bother to comment, just pushed past Chad and into the den where he knew there was a fully stocked wet bar. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and sat down on the couch. Chad followed him in shortly, grabbed a beer and sat down next to him.

  
"So..." Chad began.

  
Jared looked at him, downed his drink, and got up to pour another one. He sat back down with the second glass and set it on the coffee table.

  
"So...what's up?" Chad tried again.

  
Jared shook his head. "I don't know. I have no idea what's going on."

  
"Well start from the last time you knew what was going on then," Chad suggested.

  
Jared took another gulp of his drink. "Ok. So we had the Switch Up week, and I danced with Sandy, and everyone thought that I wanted to date her right?"

  
"Right, that was hot man."

  
"Except I didn't want to date her, and I went to Jensen's house that night because I thought he was mad at me, and I got there and he kissed me."

  
"He kissed you?!" Chad exclaimed.

  
"Yes. And I kissed him back. And we kind of...dry humped on his couch, and it..."

  
"Ok stop!" Chad interrupted."Let me get this straight...you're not?"

  
"Not what?" Jared asked confused.

  
"Not straight," Chad chuckled.

  
"You're such a dick. I don't know what I am. All I know is I liked kissing Jensen...a lot. Much more than I liked Sandy trying to mount me on camera."

  
"So what's the problem?"

  
"Did you see the training footage from tonight's show?"

  
Chad cocked his head. "I did...oh. So he thinks you're all about Sandy. And he thinks you hit it and quit it with him."

  
"Yeah basically."

  
"Well...this might be a crazy idea, but did you tell him that's wrong?"

  
"Oh wow Chad, what a great idea! I can't believe I didn't think about that!" Jared said sarcastically.

  
"Hey, don't be an asshole. I'm trying to be supportive of your newfound gay love. And as your friend I know that you sometimes aren't the best at expressing your feelings. So did you actually tell him that you like him?"

  
"I didn't really get the chance. He was so upset, and I think I was too busy trying to convince him there wasn't anything between me and Sandy that I never actually said I liked him. Fuck. I believe what I actually said was that I needed him to win."

  
Chad took a sip from his drink. "Well at least you told him that you needed him."

  
"What am I going to do?"

  
"Well you could start with telling him how you feel. Like **really** telling him."

  
"What if he doesn't give me the chance?"

  
"Then...shit. I don't know, grand romantic gesture?"

  
Jared downed the rest of his drink and slumped back on the couch.

  
"Jay, you're gonna be ok. From what you've told me, and what I've seen from watching you, I think he's pretty into you."

  
Jared looked over at him. "You know you're being much more calm and supportive than I thought you were going to be."

  
"Well you're my best friend, and you're upset. Once you settle things with Jensen believe me, I'll make tons of gay jokes at your expense, but I just want you to be happy, I don't care who it's with as long as they treat you right."

  
"Thanks Chad. You're a good friend."

  
"I know. You wanna play some video games, help take your mind off lover boy?"

  
"Beating you does always cheer me up," Jared replied.

  
"I only let you win because you're sad. If I was really trying you'd never have a chance. I'm just such a good friend," Chad insisted.

  
"Keep telling yourself that Chad," Jared laughed.

 

  
The night after the show Jared and Jensen had arranged to meet to discuss the seventh week dance. Jared was nervous that after their falling out that Jensen wouldn't bother to show up at all, so he was somewhat relieved when he pulled into the studio lot and saw Jensen's car.

  
"You look worried. What's wrong?" Jared asked when he walked into the studio and saw Jensen sitting against the wall with his head down.

  
"It's nothing. I just found out we have the quickstep this week," Jensen said.

  
"So?"

  
Jensen ran his hands through his hair. "It's one of the dances that even the pros dread doing. It's probably my least favorite."

  
"We'll be fine," Jared said sitting down next to him.

  
Jensen got up and walked away, over to where his phone was. He busied himself with hooking it up to charge while Jared watched from across the room.

  
"Jensen...I know you're mad at me but..."

  
Jensen spun around and looked at Jared with pain in his eyes. "I'm not mad at you Jared. I thought I was but...I'm just...hurt."

  
"So talk to me! Help me understand what I did. Was it all the interview and the Sandy thing? Because I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just being me."

  
"I know. I think maybe that's the problem Jared. It comes so naturally for you to be flirtatious and friendly, but I think maybe you want her too. It's ok that you're attracted to her, you like women, it's natural. I know I'm the first guy that you've...been intimate with, and that's a lot for you to process. I'm just wondering if this is something you're really ready for."

  
Jared was silent for a moment, pondering the comment, and Jensen spoke up again.

  
"We're attracted to each other, that much is obvious. But if there's any part of you that's questioning it at all...then I can't do this. If you want more with me I can't do it halfway. Now I told you I was still going to help you win this competition and I meant that. We just need to do a better job of faking our enthusiasm."

  
"I don't need to fake anything, I want to dance with you, I want to be with you," Jared insisted.

  
"Then why didn't you say that when they interviewed you?" Jensen argued.

  
"I just...I couldn't," Jared admitted.

  
"This is what I'm talking about Jared. You're not ready, you don't know you feel."

  
Jared sat down in one of the chairs. "I'm sorry Jensen. It's like I think I know how I feel when I'm with you, but when I'm confronted with with making it public, I freeze up. I know that's not fair to you, and I don't want to hurt you. But at the same time, I want you."

  
Jensen smiled sadly. "Look. We have some time off this week, so maybe it's better if we spend a few days apart."

  
"I thought you were worried about the dance, shouldn't we spend extra time on it?"

  
"I think this is what's best for both of us. I promise when we come back we'll work twice as hard. I'm not going to let you down Jared."

  
"I know you wouldn't Jensen," Jared said quietly.

  
"I'll talk to you in a few days ok?" Jensen asked. Jared didn't seem convinced and Jensen spoke again. "I'm going to need song suggestions. It's 80's week, and most of my classic rock won't make for a great quick step. I'm sure you have plenty of cheesy hits on your iPod right?"

  
Jared gave him a small smile. "Maybe."

  
"Well compile a list and text me in a couple days with what you come up with. In the mean time, get some sleep, clear your head. I think that's what we both should do."

Jared had been all set to tell Jensen how he felt and lay it all out, but now he was second guessing everything. The timing clearly wasn't right and the other man didn't seem interested in what he had to say. If Jensen wanted time apart he was going to have to give it to him as much as it hurt to do so.

_I'll give Jensen the break he thinks we need_.  __ _But when we come back...it's grand romantic gesture time_ , Jared thought.


	7. Week 7: Quickstep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After spending some time apart, Jared and Jensen are reunited for their Quickstep. Both have had time to contemplate their relationship, so what will they decide to do now?

_**Week 7: Quickstep** _

A couple of days after they decided to take their break from each other, Chris went to Jensen's house to check up on him since he hadn't been returning his calls. When he didn't answer the door he let himself in with the spare key. He walked into Jensen's room and found him laying in bed staring at the wall. There was music playing quietly from the speakers by the bed.

  
"Jensen? You ok buddy?"

  
Jensen didn't answer, just shifted under the covers.

  
Chris listened to the music for a moment. "Is this Boyz II Men?"

  
"Maybe," Jensen mumbled.

  
"You need to get up. I'm worried about you. We're all worried about you," Chris said.

  
"I'm fine."

  
"Yeah right man, I walked in on you listening to like the saddest song in the world. You're moping and I'm sure you've been doing it since I last saw you."

  
"No I haven't."

  
"Maybe you need to get away for awhile. There's no show this week because of the playoffs right? So if you're not rehearsing all week come and stay with me and Lindy for a couple days."

  
Jensen mumbled something but didn't make an effort to move.

  
"If you don't come home with me tonight you know she's going to be out here dragging your ass back herself right? Come on Jensen, you can stay in the guest room, we'll get some nice home cooked meals in you, and you can just recharge."

  
"Ok," Jensen mumbled from inside his blanket cocoon.

He went back with Chris to the house he shared with Lindy and spent the night with them, barbecuing steaks and drinking beers on their porch. After that he went to bed in their guest room with their dog Jake keeping him company. When he awoke the next morning he glanced at the clock and saw he'd slept for ten hours, absolutely unheard of for him. He went downstairs and found his hosts in the living room. Chris was sitting on the couch with Lindy cuddled next to him, her feet in his lap. His head was tilted down and Jensen could hear him murmuring something into her hair. She laughed and leaned her head up to kiss Chris. The intimacy of the act made Jensen's heart pang with longing and jealousy.

  
"Jensen! How did you sleep?" Lindy asked.

  
"Good. "

  
"Do you want some breakfast? Coffee?"

  
"Coffee would be great."

  
"I'll get it. You stay here darlin', keep Jensen company," Chris said getting up and pecking his girlfriend on the forehead.

  
Lindy laid back on the couch and looked over at Jensen.

  
"I know you said you slept well, but you still look...unrested. You don't look bad or anything, just like you have a lot going on in that head of yours."

  
"Have you been watching the show?"

  
"Of course. And voting."

  
"So you saw what happened over the last few weeks."

  
"With Sandy and the...oh! Oh Jensen. You know that you can't take that kind of stuff to heart. The editing is done to amp up the drama. Potential romance makes for good television."

  
"I know that. And if it were any of my other partners I wouldn't have cared. Or anyone else for that matter. Any one but Jared."

  
"Oh sweetie," Lindy said quietly, her voice growing concerned. "Did something happen between you?"

  
"The night of the Switch Up performances he came over to my house and I kissed him. And then he kissed me back...a lot. And we uh..."

  
Lindy put her hands up to stop him. "I don't need all the details!"

  
"Sorry. Anyway, that happened, and then last week I saw the package where he said he would rather be partnered with Sandy, and we got in a fight and I told him that we could still be partners but that was it."

  
"How did he take that?"

  
"Honestly he seemed genuinely upset."

  
"So don't you think that means something?"

  
"Like what?"

  
"You tell me."

  
Chris walked back into the room and handed Jensen a coffee. "Here darlin', I made you some of that tea you like," he said, setting a mug in front of Lindy. He sat back next to her, placing an arm around her.

  
Jensen sipped his coffee and looked at his friends in envy. He had resigned himself long ago to the fact that the would never have something like that, but it didn't stop the ideas and feelings from popping into his head without warning. It's not that he didn't want it, it was just easier to not hope for something unattainable.

  
"Have you two talked since that night?" Lindy asked.

  
"Not really. We had one short rehearsal where I told him I thought we needed time apart. He's sent me a few texts with song suggestions."

  
"And I bet you didn't respond," Lindy said sipping her tea.

  
"I didn't know what to say!"

  
"Is this really all about Jared and Sandy?" Chris asked.

  
"What do you mean?"

  
Chris paused, trying to figure out how to gently broach the subject. "I've known you for a while man. I know how you operate. I just don't want you making excuses for why you should be running from a good thing."

  
"I don't want to be another straight man's experiment. Is that a good enough reason?" Jensen snapped.

  
"Well it's certainly a better reason!"

  
"I just don't want to keep getting hurt. And Jared...he could really hurt me. He's not like anyone else I've ever been involved with," Jensen admitted.

  
"I know the thing with Jeff hurt you pretty bad. But Jared's not Jeff man," Chris said.

  
Jensen nodded. "I know that. He's so much better. And that's why I can't do this. Because he's not even sure if he's gay or bi or what. And if he decides this is just a fluke or something, that could crush me."

  
"I don't think you're being fair to Jared. You're automatically assuming that this is going to end badly," Lindy pointed out. "You keep mentioning how he could potentially hurt you, but that's if things don't work out between you. If your feelings for him are so strong, doesn't that also mean he could be the One?"

  
Jensen sat back and sipped his coffee. "Yes," he said quietly.

  
"Love is about taking risks. You're not going to find it by pushing everyone away because you're scared. That's how you end up alone."

  
"So what do I do?"

  
"You could start by responding to his text messages I suppose," Lindy suggested.

  
Jensen drained the last of his coffee. "Maybe later. Chris promised me a round of golf this afternoon. I'm going to grab a shower, be ready to go in a half hour."

  
Jensen got up and walked out of the room. After he was out of earshot Lindy turned to Chris.

  
"You can't let him push Jared away. I really think he could make Jensen happy."

  
"It's not like I can drag him kicking and screaming back to Jared."

  
"No you can't. I'm just saying maybe give him a little nudge in the right direction. And if that doesn't work, maybe do something more extreme. Do you have Jared's phone number?"

  
"Darlin what are you up to?" Chris asked.

  
"I'm not up to anything," Lindy said throwing her hands up in a show of innocence.

  
"Uh huh. I know that look."

  
"You go play golf, and don't worry about me."

  
"Do you promise you're not going to do anything and you're going to let Jensen live his own life?"

  
"As much as you are."

  
"Good point. I'll see you later. Love you darlin'," Chris tilted Lindy's face up and gave her a kiss.

  
"I love you too. Tell Jensen we're having chicken fried steak for dinner."

  
"Mmm he's going to love you too," Chris said giving her another kiss.

 

Chris and Jensen spent their afternoon golfing and then stopped at a farmer's market to pick up lettuce for dinner and some flowers for Lindy. They had a delicious dinner and when it came time for bed Jensen was wiped. He lay in bed in the guest room staring at his phone and contemplating whether he should text Jared back.

  
_Just bite the bullet man. You're going to need to talk to him eventually. You can do this_.

  
**Jensen:** Sorry I haven't responded to your texts, I've just been doing a lot of thinking.  
**Jared:** I have too. I miss you. I don't know how you want to take that, but that's the truth. I miss you when you're not around.

  
Jensen read the message and took a deep breath before responding.

  
**Jensen** : I miss you too.

  
He anxiously awaited Jared's response and was somewhat relieved when Jared got back to discussing their dance.

  
**Jared:** Did you like any of the song suggestions?  
**Jensen:** I did. I picked "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. I'm glad I trusted that you'd have predictably cheesy music taste.  
**Jared:** My music taste is great and you know it. So when am I going to see you again?  
**Jensen:** Day after tomorrow?  
**Jared:** Works for me. I'm ready to get back to work.  
**Jensen:** Me too.  
**Jared:** Well it's getting late, I should probably hit the sack. I'm really looking forward to our rehearsal.  
**Jensen** : Me too. Goodnight Jared.  
**Jared:** Sweet dreams Jensen.

  
Jensen lay back on the bed and tried to figure out what this all meant. The messages could have been construed as flirting, but knowing Jared they also could have just been friendly. Maybe that was a good thing. They needed to get back to being friends and partners before they could even consider anything else.

  
Two days later Jensen arrived at the studio for their rehearsal. When he walked in Jared was already there waiting for him with an iced green tea and muffin. There was a southwest chicken salad and buffalo chicken wrap waiting in the fridge for later.

  
"Hey. I hope this is ok. I didn't want to worry about having to run out at lunch time. This way we can work straight through."

  
"It's fine Jared," Jensen said setting down his bag.

  
"How were your days off?" Jared asked.

  
"Good. I went and stayed with Chris and Lindy where I was forced to watch them doing sickeningly sweet coupley stuff. But there was alcohol and home cooked food, so I survived. How about you?"

  
"Good. I took Sadie to the beach to run around, we hadn't done that in awhile. Spent some time with Chad."

  
"Did you see anyone else?" Jensen asked trying to seem nonchalant.

  
"Like any other professional dancers?" Jared asked.

  
"Or just anyone, but yeah did you hang out with one of the other pros?" Jensen asked looking at the floor.

  
"Actually yeah," Jared replied. Jensen's head snapped up. "Osric and I went and got pho and went shopping at an antique flea market."

  
"Oh. That sounds fun."

  
"Jensen, if you wanted to know if I took out Sandy, you just had to ask."

  
"I'm sorry. It's none of my business who you hang out with. I'm just your partner," Jensen said walking over to the speakers. He put on a warm-up playlist. "Let's get started stretching. We've got work to do."

  
Jared wanted to stop Jensen and tell him that it was his business, and that he had no interest in going out with Sandy or anyone who wasn't Jensen. Instead he just followed the other man's lead and began stretching.

 

The rest of the rehearsal went fairly well. The two men been tiptoeing around each other in the beginning, but towards the end it seemed like things were getting back to normal. They fell back into their pattern of light banter, and despite the dance being difficult, Jared seemed to be picking it up quickly. When they wrapped for the day he was feeling pretty good about things as a whole. Jensen had given him a brief pat on the back before leaving the studio, so it was clear they still had a ways to go, but he was more than ready to put in the effort.

The night of the live show seemed like it came more quickly than any of the others. Jared hadn't felt this nervous since the first show. There was so much riding on tonight's performance. They needed good scores to move on, and he also needed to show Jensen that he was really serious about things. Luckily since it was 80's night everyone seemed to be in high spirits with their costume and music choices, so there was a good deal of joking around backstage. Kim was trying to show Jensen and Matt her Pat Benatar, "Love is a Battlefield" moves while Osric tried to teach Jared how to Moonwalk properly.

  
They cheered loudly as Jason and Danneel finished their Jazz routine to "Raspberry Beret" by Prince and got ready to take their places for their dance. When they got to the floor Jared quickly moved to the center of the screen, turning and looking expectantly at Jensen who was staring at him in confusion.

  
"Are you ok?" Jensen asked.

  
"I just want to make sure we have a good view of the interviews," Jared replied.

  
Jensen looked at him curiously, and then turned to watch the screen. It began with a recap from the week before and then briefly showed them discussing their dance for the current week. Then it cut to an interview with Jared.

  
"So Jared, how were you feeling after last week? You seemed pretty upset after everything," the interviewer asked. Jensen thought the voice sounded vaguely familiar but he was too busy concentrating on Jared's answer.

  
"Almost getting eliminated isn't fun. It sucks being up there knowing you might go home. After the package last week and the judges comments I felt really bad because I felt like I let Jensen down. It came off like I didn't want to be his partner and that couldn't be farther from the truth. Jensen is amazing and I'm incredibly grateful that I'm getting to experience this with him. I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. I want to win this for me, but I also want to win it for him. He deserves that trophy. He's helped me so much as a dancer and as a person that I feel lucky just having gotten to know him."

  
"So no other partner for you eh? Jensen's the one?" the interviewer, who Jensen now realized was Chris, asked.

  
Jared chuckled. "Yeah. Jensen is definitely the one."

  
The screen went to black and Jared started to speak, but Jensen hushed him. "We'll talk later tonight. Right now we need to dance, so remember to keep your kicks sharp ok? Strong frame, and don't trip." He gave Jared's hand a little squeeze and smiled.

  
They took the floor for their dance and as the music started the crowd came alive. The dance went pretty well although the fast pace was hard to keep up with at times. It was much easier for Jared to stay on track when he saw Jensen beaming across from him. As the dance ended Jensen gave Jared a huge hug.

  
"That was great guys!" Richard said, waving them over. "But as usual my opinion doesn't count, let's see what the judges thought. Alaina let's start with you."

  
"This was such an improvement over last week. You guys were having fun and you got back to that connection you had before where you feed easily off of each other's energy. That's exactly what I needed to see from you. Just make sure you watch your arms, when you worry about pointing your toes sometimes you forget your arms."

  
"Jared is back! I missed you my darling. So much better than last week. Your energy and enthusiasm was there tonight, and you were connected. It did seem a little manic at times, so there were a few missteps, but all in all, good work," Sebastian said, clapping his hands together.

  
"It was good. It was very good...wasn't great, your kicks could have been sharper, and you did get off beat. But I will say, as always I enjoyed watching you," Mark said, giving them a thumbs up.

  
"Alright, so mostly positive comments. We'll see what that means, go on up to Felicia to get your scores," Richard said directing them upstairs.

  
Jared and Jensen went up to the balcony where Felicia was waiting for them, microphone ready. "So good work tonight guys. How did it feel for you?"

  
"It felt good. The quickstep is a hard dance, apparently one of the hardest, there is a lot that can go wrong, but I'm happy with how it went," Jared replied.

  
"Your training package from this week was kind of personal, very personal actually, you were upset about last week's scores and comments. Tell us what was going through your head," Felicia said.

  
"Last week just all seemed kind of harsh and out of context. This guy here," Jared said putting his arm around Jensen. "I owe him so much. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. I didn't want America to think that I don't want him as my partner, because I do. Like I said it's him or no one else. I want him by my side til the end."

  
Felicia grinned at them. "Let's hope that's not tonight. Let's get your scores. Alaina Huffman 8, Sebastian Roche 8, and Mark Sheppard 8. Three 8's, so a total of 24. How does that feel?" Felicia asked Jared.

  
"I would have liked 9's of course, but I'll take it," Jared replied.

  
"It's all part of our move forward," Jensen agreed.

  
As they ended their interview, Jared took Jensen's arm and steered him off to one of the empty corridors.

  
"Jared, you didn't have to do that," Jensen said.

  
"I did. I don't want to be a part of some fake romance because it might make fans like me more. And there was no way I was going to lose you over it. I had to do something, and that was the first thing I could think of."

  
"You were really worried about losing me?" Jensen asked.

  
"Of course I was. I know what I want and I want you. Only you ok?" Jared said looking into his eyes.

  
"Me too."

  
"Ok good," Jared said smiling.

  
"But what about..." Jensen began.

  
"Nothing. Nothing else matters."

  
As Jared leaned in to kiss Jensen, Osric popped his head into the hallway.

  
"Oh, hey...sorry to interrupt. We all have to take places on the stage for elimination," Osric said.

  
Jensen sighed. "Impeccable timing as always Os. We're coming."

  
"If we get eliminated tonight is that going to kill the mood?" Jared asked

  
"Well I certainly will have to reconsider things. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Jensen joked.

They walked out and took their places on stage with the other couples. Jared was buzzing with nervous energy about elimination, but he was satisfied knowing that even if they went home, he was going to be going home with Jensen. He stepped up next to Jason and Danneel, giving Jason a little fist bump of solidarity.  
Richard stepped out in front of them as the lights lowered. "Our first couple moving on to next week and into the Semi Finals is...Jared and Jensen!"  
Jared wrapped his arms around Jensen in a tight hug. Now that he knew they were safe he wanted nothing more than to drag the other man off the stage and kiss him senseless, but they had to wait for the show to be over. They waited patiently as Richard announced that Kim and Misha, Jason and Danneel, and Mark and Sandy would also be moving on. This meant that Briana and Osric had been eliminated, and although it hurt to see them go, both men were so high on their win and each other that it was hard to stop smiling.

  
"Can I come over tonight?" Jared whispered in Jensen's ear.

  
Jensen nodded. "Be over in an hour."

 

Jared got to Jensen's exactly an hour after the show.

  
"Hey," Jensen said as he opened the door.

  
No sooner had Jensen opened the door, than Jared was pushing inside and onto him, hands cupping his face and pulling him in.

  
"Slow down Jay. What's your rush?" Jensen asked pulling back.

  
"Patience has never been my strong suit," Jared admitted sheepishly. "And it doesn't help that you drive me crazy."

  
"Well the feeling is mutual. But I'd like to at least make it to the bedroom this time and not my living room."

  
"Well what's the hold up then?" Jared asked, sounding like a petulant child.

  
Jensen gave him a quick kiss and led him down the hall. When they reached the bedroom Jared took a quick look around, he noted several framed pictures on the walls of Jensen's friends and family, and on one of the side tables, the stuffed otter he'd given him.

  
"You really did put him in your room. You're such a sap," Jared said teasingly, secretly touched that Jensen kept it so close.

  
"Shaddup," Jensen said kissing him and pushing him onto the bed. He took off his own henley shirt, and leaned down and began unbuttoning Jared's flannel. As he revealed the toned chest underneath, he was still taken aback by how gorgeous Jared was. He'd seen him shirtless in rehearsals, and of course during his Rumba with Sandy, but there was something different about seeing him underneath him, flushed with desire for him.

  
"Fuck. So beautiful," Jensen groaned leaning in and kissing him fully. He slid his hand down, gently rubbing it over the growing bulge in Jared's jeans. He could tell that Jared was getting frustrated, desperately trying for friction, and decided to up the ante.

  
"One day I'm going to get you all spread out on my bed, get you ready with my fingers and my tongue," Jensen murmured, kissing Jared's neck.

  
"Not tonight?" Jared asked breathlessly.

  
"Not tonight baby boy."

  
"Soon?"

  
"We'll see," Jensen chuckled.

  
"Can we at least take my pants off? I really don't want to ruin these ones too."

  
Jensen laughed, but complied with Jared's request. He threw the jeans onto the growing pile of clothes on the floor.

  
Jensen slid down Jared's body, taking his boxers with him, leaving Jared naked. This was his first real look at Jared's dick, and he was not disappointing. He kissed Jared's inner thigh gently, and then looked up at him.

  
"What do you want Jay?"

  
"Your...your mouth."

  
"You want me to suck you? Put this beautiful big cock between my lips?"

  
He rubbed the the tip of Jared's cock across his lips, then flicked his tongue across the crown.

  
"Jen. Please, stop teasing."

  
Jensen obliged and took more of Jared into his mouth, sucking slowly. Jared moaned underneath him. He began moving his mouth faster, taking Jared in deep and sucking hard on his tip while pulling back. Jared groaned and started thrusting a little bit up into Jensen's mouth.

  
Jensen pulled off with a dirty pop, and smiled at Jared. "Feeling good?" he asked, slowly jerking his hand along Jared's cock. Jared bucked into his hand eager to fuck his fist.

  
"I'll take that as a yes."

  
Jensen put his mouth back on Jared, licking up and down the length of him. He trailed his tongue down to Jared's balls, taking first one, and then the other into his mouth. Jared let out a loud groan and Jensen chuckled inwardly. He should have known Jared would be loud in bed, which honestly suited him just fine. He wanted to coax all the sexy noises out of the other man that he could. He lapped his way back up from Jared's balls to his shaft again, tracing the vein running underneath. Then he put his hands under Jared's butt lifting it up slightly to take him deeper. As he did it, Jensen spread Jared's cheeks slightly. He toyed with the idea of slipping a finger inside the larger man, but decided to save it for another day. He settled for softly rubbing at Jared's entrance, just enough to give him a little tease and another sensation.

  
"Jen, baby I'm gonna come," Jared moaned.

  
Jensen moaned around his mouthful of Jared, encouraging him to let go. Jared thrust up a little spilling into Jensen's mouth. Jensen continued to suck him gently through his orgasm until Jared stopped him and pulled him up next to him. He kissed him sweetly but with heat, tasting himself on Jensen's tongue. After several minutes he pulled back.

  
"What is it?" Jensen asked.

  
"I want to...return the favor," Jared said, suddenly getting shy.

  
"You don't have to Jay. We've got plenty of time for that. I don't want you doing anything you're not comfortable with. You don't have anything to prove to me," Jensen insisted.

  
"But I want to. I just...need you to tell me what to do. If I'm doing alright."

  
"You looking at me and asking if you can give me head should not be such a turn on but damn if it isn't the hottest thing I've ever seen."

  
Jared smiled and moved down the bed. He positioned himself between Jensen's legs. He pulled down the other man's sweatpants and smiled when he saw that he had gone without underwear.

  
"Were you expecting this?" Jared joked.

  
"I was lounging around my house in sweatpants, didn't really see the need for underwear," Jensen answered.

  
Jared laughed and looked at Jensen hesitantly.

  
"What's wrong?" Jensen asked.

  
"I just want it to be good for you."

  
Jensen laid a hand gently on the back of Jared's neck. "Trust me. Anything you do is going to be good because it's you. Look how turned on I got just from blowing you."

  
Jared took hold of Jensen's erection tentatively, and Jensen laid back again.

  
"Don't be nervous. Just think about what you like ok?"

  
Jared tightened his grip earned a small intake of breath from Jensen. He looked at the other man nervously, but Jensen's smile urged him on. He took the tip of Jensen's cock into his mouth and sucked gently.

  
"Feels good Jared."

  
Jared took more into his mouth and slowly began bobbing his head up and down. He tried to hollow his cheeks like he'd seen girls do when giving him head.

  
"Yeah, like that. It's fucking good baby boy."

  
Jensen's dirty talk encouragement really bolstered his confidence and Jared picked up his pace, sucking Jensen harder and faster. He tried to remember what Jensen had just done to him that he liked, and he pulled off and moved down to lap at Jensen's sac. He thought it would be weird, but it wasn't any weirder than what he'd already been doing, and the effect it was having on Jensen was totally worth it. The other man was groaning and writhing underneath him.

  
"God Jay. Shit."

  
Jared gave his balls one last lick and took Jensen's cock back into his mouth. He tried to take as much in as he could without choking, which seemed to satisfy the other man, judging by the way he thrust up.

  
"I'm gonna come soon sweetheart. You don't have to...finish me with your mouth if you're not comfortable."

  
Jared pulled his mouth off and looked at Jensen. He wrapped his hand around Jensen's dick and began pumping it quickly.

  
"Fuck Jared!" Jensen groaned.

  
"I guess that means this was a good idea? You're so beautiful Jen. You look so good like this. I wanna see you come for me, coming apart for me.

  
Jensen grunted as he gave a final thrust into Jared's fist, come spurting onto it, and his chest. Jared smiled, lazily coaxing him through the aftershocks, and leaning down to kiss him. He hopped up from the bed and quickly went to Jensen's bathroom, returning with a wet cloth. He gently ran it over Jensen's abs, wiping him clean, before using it on himself. Jensen grabbed it from his hand and tossed it to the floor, then pulled Jared to him in a kiss.

  
"You're gonna stay tonight right?" Jensen asked

  
"Mhmm. I asked Chad to check on Sadie before I came over."

  
"Jared Padalecki! You planned to seduce me and worm your way into sleeping in my bed?" Jensen asked in mock surprise.

  
"Oh please. You knew exactly what I meant when I asked if I could come over."

  
"I thought you just wanted to get a jump start on next week's dance."

  
Jared pulled a pillow out from under him and hit Jensen with it lightly. Jensen grabbed the pillow and tugged Jared toward him kissing him softly on the mouth.

  
"Well if you're staying, this is the perfect opportunity for something you promised me weeks ago."

  
"And what's that?"

  
"We're going to watch Captain America!"

 

Several hours later they had finished watching both Captain America The First Avenger and Captain America The Winter Soldier, and were cuddled up in Jensen's bed.

  
"Ok... I'll admit it. You were totally right. Stucky is real," Jared said as the credits rolled.

  
"Ha! I knew I'd make you see it!" Jensen exclaimed triumphantly.

  
"It's a whole lot different seeing it portrayed in movie form. I only read some of the early comics when I was younger. But the bond between them in the movies comes off as so much more than friendship, it's more like soulmates. They're everything to each other, their past, present, and future."

  
"It also helps that Chris and Sebastian are hella gay for each other," Jensen added.

  
"Yeah, says you," Jared said with a laugh.

  
"Uh not just me. It's true," Jensen insisted.

  
"Uh huh..."

  
Jensen sat up. "Seriously. Ask Misha. I met them once at a party he had. They are in luuuurve with each other. Hand holding, kissing, the whole deal. Evanstan is as real as Stucky."

  
"Really? Huh. Well. Life imitates art I guess. Do you think they roleplay as Steve and Bucky? That might be kind of hot right?" Jared asked.

  
Jensen laughed. "I don't know. Why? You saying you wanna be my Captain America, sweetheart?" Jensen stroked his fingers lightly over Jared's chest, lingering on his nipple.

  
"Course not," Jared said rolling on top of Jensen. "You're Captain America. I'm the Winter Soldier," he said leaning in to kiss Jensen.

  
"Fuck baby doll. You're gonna be the death of me aren't ya?" Jensen groaned.

  
"Mmm. Well I'm with you til the end of the line," Jared mumbled between kisses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering, the "saddest song in the world" is "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men. I love it, but it really is so sad. Also I had to sneak "Raspberry Beret" in there, RIP Prince, plus I could totally see Danneel dancing to that.
> 
> And obviously I'm Stucky trash, and rapidly becoming Evanstan trash.


	8. Week 8: Paso Doble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Week 8 of competition brings the Paso Doble and an unexpected obstacle for Jared and Jensen's new relationship.

_**Week 8** _

  
The following week was an interesting one for Jared and Jensen. It was clear that their relationship had evolved, but during their rehearsals Jensen thought it was best to make sure things remained professional. He didn't want the perception of their involvement to hurt Jared's chances of getting votes. Jared had tried to argue that maybe it would make people want to vote for them more, but it wasn't a risk Jensen was willing to take. He was pretty sure that the camera guys and other dancers still knew something was going on, but they were discreet enough to not mention it.

  
"I wish I could kiss you right now," Jared whispered as they were sitting across from each other stretching during their next rehearsal.

  
"Well you can't," Jensen whispered back.

  
"But your lips are like...right there," Jared whined.

  
"Jared..." Jensen warned. "Later ok?"

  
"Can't you just give me a little...incentive?" Jared asked.

  
"Isn't the thought of winning incentive enough?"

  
"It's not the same," Jared pouted.

  
Jensen smiled. "Look this is a really important week, it's the semifinals. And the Paso isn't easy. We'll start running through the dance, get a good solid understanding of it, and then break for lunch or...whatever ok?"

  
"Ok," Jared said standing up. He wandered over to get a drink of water and then walked back over to his partner. "Jensen?"

  
"Yeah?"

  
"We're going to have sex right?"

  
"Well not at this very moment," Jensen joked.

  
"But like eventually right?"

  
"I would like to yes."

  
"Cool."

  
Jensen stood up. "Something bothering you Jared? It seems like there was more to that question."

  
"I was just um...wondering who was...uh...going to," Jared trailed off blushing furiously.

  
"Are you trying to ask who is going to top?"

  
"Yes," Jared replied meekly.

  
"Sweetheart if you can't talk about sex you shouldn't be having it," Jensen teased.

  
"Shut up! I don't know how these things work between men," Jared said looking away.

  
Jensen put his arms around the other man. "I'm sorry Jay. I shouldn't tease you. And it really depends on the couple. A lot of guys have a preference, and others are versatile. I prefer to top, but I never expect my partner to want to bottom for me. Some guys just aren't into it, but it should be a decision made together."

  
"So you want to top me?"

  
"Jared have you seen your ass?" Jensen asked moving one of his hands down to gently cup Jared's ass. "I am dying to tap that," Jensen paused." But you've also got that amazing cock, and I'd love to feel you putting that inside me."

  
Jared leaned in to kiss Jensen but they were startled by the door opening. They jumped apart nervously then saw that it was only Chris. He looked like he was on a mission,which typically meant that he was the bearer of bad news.

  
"Jensen, I need to talk to you quick," Chris said.

  
"We're in the middle of rehearsing," Jensen complained.

  
"It looks like you're more in the middle of feeling Jared up, but whatever."

  
"I wasn't!" Jensen protested. "Can it wait until later?"

  
"I really think it'd be better if I tell you now," Chris said seriously. "Can we step outside?"

  
"Whatever it is you can say in front of Jared."

  
"I was going over the rehearsal schedule with the producers and I found out that Jeff is guest judging this week. It was supposed to be a surprise to boost ratings or something, I just figured you would want to know."

  
Jensen exhaled sharply. "Well...that's certainly not the best news I've gotten today. But thanks for telling me man, I do appreciate it."

  
"Sure thing. I wasn't going to let my best friend go into something like this blind. So what's our plan?" Chris asked.

  
"Just make sure your arrangement of our song is perfect ok? I don't know how he'll judge us so we'll need all the help we can get."

  
"Yeah I got you. I can't believe you're doing a Paso to a Fall Out Boy song though," Chris replied.

  
"Centuries is a good song! And believe me, it's going to work," Jensen insisted.

  
"If you say so. Seriously though, are you going to be ok? I know this has to be freaking you out a little."

  
"It's freaking me out a lot, but there's nothing I can do about it except to work hard and hope this doesn't hurt our chances."

  
Chris patted Jensen's shoulder reassuringly. "Well you just let me know if there's anything else I can do alright? I gotta go. You take care of him Jared you hear?"

  
Jared responded by putting his arm around Jensen's shoulders. Jensen leaned into him, relaxing against him. Chris smiled at the gesture and waved goodbye.

  
Jared had remained quiet through most of Chris and Jensen's conversation, and when Chris left the studio he spoke up again. "What's the story with you and Jeff? I've been wondering for awhile now, but I knew it wasn't something that you liked to talk about so I didn't ask. But considering...recent developments...I'm asking."

  
Jensen sighed. "This is a sitting type of conversation," he said leading Jared over to the steps. "I'll try to give you short version. Jeff was Sandy's partner last season. She and I have never really been close, we have clashing personalities I guess, but we never really had a problem. As you've come to see, most of the pros and celebrities get to know each other fairly well. I was out pretty early in the season so I was in a lot of the troupe dances, and did some back up, so I was around Jeff a good amount. We'd hang around backstage and went out a couple times with some of the others for drinks. Then one night we went to the bar, and I stepped out to smoke a cigarette, which I only do when I'm wasted. He followed me outside and before I knew it he had me pressed against the wall and was kissing me. We went back to his hotel room, and from there things kind of just snowballed. We fooled around for the rest of the season, secretly of course because he said he didn't want to be outed on national television, which I get. It's kind of hard to hide something like that among the cast though, and people, namely Sandy did find out. She kind of told me off the night before the finale, told me to keep my slutty hands off her partner, that kind of thing. But they ended up winning anyway, so she was somewhat mollified."

  
"So what happened between you and Jeff then?" Jared asked.

  
"They won, and as he was being congratulated and doing his exit interview, he thanked Hilarie, his fiancee for all her support. He'd been engaged the whole time we were fucking and never mentioned a thing."

  
"Jensen I'm sorry. Did you at least get to confront him?"

  
"He was too surrounded by people that night. I sent him a text later saying that we needed to talk, and he responded that we 'didn't have anything to talk about, and we were just having fun'. And that's the last I heard from him," Jensen finished.

  
"That's so shitty. And sleazy. I want to kick this guy's ass."

  
"Well wait until after he judges us, we need good scores," Jensen joked.

  
"I'm serious Jen, he had no right to treat you like that," Jared said putting a hand on Jensen's knee.

  
"Yeah well, now I have you right?" Jensen replied knocking his knee into Jared's.

  
"That's right," Jared said pecking Jensen on the nose. "Sorry, I forgot. No kissing in rehearsal."

  
"I'll let that one slide," Jensen said with a smile. "Now let's back to work."

 

They worked overtime for the rest of the week trying to perfect their dance. Jared knew how important it was to Jensen that it went well just to ensure they stayed in the competition, but also to prove to Jeff that he was doing fine without him. He had been having a little bit of trouble putting on the swaggering persona that he needed for the dance, so Jensen recruited Ty to help him with his character development. After a few hours working together, Jared had really upped his game and brought the machismo that the judges would be looking for. The whole effect was turning Jensen on a little more than he wanted to admit, but he refused to break his professional attitude in rehearsals despite Jared's best efforts.

  
The night of the live show Jensen's stomach was in knots. Jeff was flying in later than expected and wouldn't arrive until right before showtime, so at least he didn't have to worry about an unnecessary run in before their performance, but he still was nervously pacing around backstage.

  
"Are you ok?" Jared asked.

  
"Yeah. I'll be fine. I'm just anxious to get this over with. Not the dance, I'm excited for that, I think it's gonna be great. I just..."

  
Jared stopped him. "I get it," he said putting a hand on Jensen's hip. He rubbed his thumb against it discreetly, trying to reassure the other man.

  
They went out with the rest of the cast for the opening number and the cast and judge introductions. Jensen made it a point to not make eye contact with Jeff, and clapped politely as Richard introduced him as guest judge. Jared got him backstage as soon as he could so he could try to relax him before their performance. They were the last couple dancing for the night so unfortunately it still gave Jensen a lot of time to get himself worked up. When it was finally their turn Jared took his hand and led him out onto the floor.

"We're gonna be fine baby," Jared said.

  
"I know."

  
"Just breathe and focus on me. It's just you and me dancing out there ok?"

  
Jensen smiled and shook his head. "How did you get to be the one reassuring me? I'm supposed to be the professional here."

  
"Everybody needs a pep talk sometimes."

  
"Thanks Jay. Now let's do this," Jensen said giving his hand a squeeze.

  
The music began and they started their dance by circling one another before coming together for a series of artisic fight-inspired movements. They transitioned into more typical Paso steps like the huit step and chasse. They ended with several turns and Jared spinning Jensen on the floor. As they struck their final pose the crowed erupted in applause.

  
Jared grinned and pulled Jensen up off the floor. He put his arm around him and led him over to where Richard was standing by the judges table.

  
"Great job you two. Let's see what the judges have to say. Starting with Alaina Huffman followed by Sebastian Roche."

  
"I thought it was great. I'm not going to lie I was a little worried about how it was going to turn out, but you did an amazing job. I really enjoyed seeing this side of you since you're normally such a goofy carefree guy. My only complaint is that I wanted to see more of it."

  
"I agree with Alaina. I loved it, I thought it was dynamic and aggressive. The costuming, the music, the lighting, everything went together so so well. I really think that you are proving yourself as a contender for that trophy," Sebastian finished.

  
"Sounds like some good scores are coming. Now let's hear from our guest judge Jeffrey Dean Morgan," Richard said.

  
Jensen took a deep breath and put his arm around Jared's waist.

  
Jeff looked down at his notes and then up at Jensen and Jared unsmiling. "I disagree with those two. It was missing something for me. I don't know if it was the song choice, or the choreography, but to me something seemed off. The Paso is supposed to be about the man as the bullfighter taming the bull, and you just didn't seem like you really embraced that virile role. Maybe it's because your partner wasn't the typical long skirted female, but it seems like it may have taken a toll on your masculinity."

  
Jensen tightened his arm around Jared. _How dare Jeff attack Jared's masculinity? He knows how hard it is to be up here and out of your element and now he's acting like he's the expert on dance and trying to make Jared feel inferior._

  
Jeff continued. "You seem like you're a good dancer don't get me wrong, I just don't know if you're good enough to win the competition."

  
Mark barely waited until Jeff was finished speaking to voice his opinion. "I think you're wrong Jeff. Jared I think that you have done an incredible job in embodying that character despite of your male partner. You know that I've had comments about that all season, but this week I don't think it hurt you at all. I don't think we've had a past contestant or champion who could do what you've done."

  
Jensen noticed a look of anger flicker across Jeff's face at Mark's comment.

  
"You've taken my criticism week in and week out, and improved on it. That's what it takes to win this competition. I don't like admitting that I'm wrong about something, but you may just prove me wrong Jared," Mark said with a smile.

  
"High praise from head judge Mark Sheppard. And you even got a smile out of him. So that's gotta feel pretty good right?" Richard asked Jared.

  
"Yeah it does. We worked really hard this week, so I'm glad to see that smile from him," Jared responded.

  
"Well let's see if that smile carried over into the scores. Alaina Huffman, 10! Sebastian Roche, 10! Mark Sheppard, 9 and our guest judge Jeff, 8."

  
As Richard announced Jeff's score the crowd began to boo. Even Mark was looking at the man next to him in confusion.

  
"The audience clearly doesn't agree with that score, but I have good news for you guys. Despite that, you two are tied with Kim and Misha at the top of the leader board!"

  
Jared hugged Jensen and then hugged Richard and picked him up.

  
Richard laughed as Jared placed him back on the ground. "Guess he's happy! Unfortunately we still have to say goodbye to someone tonight. We're going to go to commercial and when we come back we will find out who is going home and who is moving on to next week's finale!"

  
They cut to commercial break and Jared turned to Jensen. "I know you're upset about the scores, I can tell, so don't bother lying."

  
"I'm only upset about **one** score," Jensen muttered.

  
"Hey. It doesn't matter. We're still at the top, that's great."

  
"I just don't want to go home because he underscored you."

  
"It's fine Jensen. What's going to happen is going to happen. But I have a good feeling."

  
Richard gave the signal that they were returning from break and all the couples gathered centerstage. "The first couple who will be moving on to the finals to battle it out for the trophy is...Kim and Misha!"

  
Kim and Misha hugged everyone and moved out of the spotlight as Richard announced the next finalists. "Also joining them in the finals are...Jason and Danneel!"  
Everyone congratulated Jason and Danneel, and the two final couples gathered in the spotlight as the lights dimmed.

  
" Our to remaining couples, Mark and Sandy and Jared and Jensen, one of you is going home tonight."

  
Jared slipped his hand into Jensen's Richard began to speak.

  
"Mark and Sandy you have been consistent throughout the competition, but tonight the judges found fault in your Argentine tango. Jared and Jensen you earned your first 10's of the competition and ended the night tied for first place, but did America vote to keep you?"

  
Jensen and Jared were both holding their breath as Richard made the final announcement.

  
"Tonight in Week 8 of competition, the couple leaving us is...Mark and Sandy. Which means Jared and Jensen you are going to the finals!"

  
Jared threw his arms around Jensen and pulled him tight. He felt Jason on his back congratulating them and saw Kim in front of him reaching for him. Soon all six finalists were in a group hug as Mark and Sandy had their final interview.

  
"I told you I had a good feeling," Jared said to Jensen.

  
"Yeah you did. Congratulations Jared. You earned this."

  
"I couldn't have done it without you," Jared said sincerely.

  
"We do make a pretty good team. But making it to the finals is the easy part. The last week of competition is brutal, so I hope you're ready, I'm going to be working you harder than ever."

  
"Oh I'm ready to take whatever you dish out Ackles," Jared replied with a wink.

  
Jensen snorted and shook his head. "I'm gonna go get my stuff. I think Felicia had some questions she wanted to go over with you while I'm not around. Something for the finale interview segments."

  
"Ok. I'll catch up with you later," Jared said walking off to find Felicia.

 

 

Jensen was grabbing his bag from the dressing room when he heard the door open behind him. He turned around and saw Jeff standing there.

  
"Jensen."

  
"Jeff."

  
"I'm glad you made it to the finals."

  
"Are you? Didn't seem like you were pulling for me when you were scoring us," Jensen pointed out.

  
"Oh don't be like that Jenny," Jeff said stepping closer to him.

  
"Don't call me that," Jensen said through gritted teeth.

  
"You used to like when I called you that," Jeff said in a low voice. He slipped an arm loosely around Jensen's waist.

  
"Things change. You should know that. You have a pregnant wife now right?"

  
"I do," Jeff leaned in and whispered in Jensen's ear. "But that doesn't mean I don't still want to take you back to my hotel room, open you up on my cock the way you love."

  
Jensen tried to push Jeff away from him. "You're unbelievable."

  
"Come on baby, you know you want it. I'll make it real good for you." Jeff said tightening his grip.

  
"Jeff I said no."

  
"Yeah I heard you. But that wouldn't be the first time right baby? You always were a tease. No means yes, yes means harder?"

  
A hand reached out and ripped Jeff's hand off Jensen and twisted his arm behind his back.

  
"I think no actually mean's no in this case asshole," Danneel snapped. Jeff let out a small grunt of pain and she pushed him away. "Sandy was looking for you. She told me you guys are performing in the finals. She wants to make sure you're ready to start rehearsing tomorrow. Guess she's worried you're out of practice."

  
Jeff glared at Danneel and huffed a little. "I'll see you around Jenny," Jeff said walking away.

  
After he walked away Danneel turned back to Jensen. "Are you ok?"

  
He rubbed his hand over his face. "Yeah I'm ok."

  
"Do you want me to get Jared?"

  
"No!" Jensen said quickly. "It'll just upset him. I don't want him distracted."

  
"Jensen, I think he'd wanna know about it."

  
"And maybe I'll tell him eventually. But not today."

  
"Oh speak of the devil," Danneel said Jared entered the room.

  
"There you are. I've been looking all over for you," Jared said.

  
"Well you found him," Danneel said.

  
Jared smiled and looked at Jensen. "Are you ok? You look weird."

  
"I'm fine! I'm just tired or something probably. I just need to get home," Jensen snapped.

  
"Ok," Jared said, taken aback by Jensen's outburst.

  
"I'm sorry. I gotta go," Jensen said turning to leave.

  
"I'll text you later," Jared said to Jensen's retreating back. He turned to Danneel. "Did I miss something?"

  
"Kind of. Not really. It's not really my place to say."

  
Jared looked worried. "Is Jensen ok? Did I do something wrong?"

  
"Without getting too much into it I can honestly say that, no, you didn't do anything wrong. This is completely a Jensen thing," Danneel said patting Jared's arm reassuringly.

  
"Do you think I should just leave him alone?" Jared asked.

  
"That seems to be what he wants. But it's been my experience that Jensen doesn't always know what he wants. I think you should do whatever you think he needs."

 

 

Jensen was laying on his couch later that night half asleep in front of some mindless television when he heard the doorbell. He opened the door and saw Jared standing on his porch with a shopping bag.

  
"Jared, hey. I didn't know you were coming over."

  
"I brought you that mint chocolate chip gelato you were talking about the other day. And this cool popcorn that I bought from this place near my house, it's spicy, it's supposed to taste like hot wings and..."

  
"Jared. You're rambling. Come inside."

  
Jensen walked back into the living room followed by Jared.

  
"I'm sorry I didn't call first. I wanted to surprise you, but then I was worried that you'd be mad or busy or something," Jared said looking down at the carpet.

  
"Stop apologizing. Does it look like I was busy?" Jensen asked, motioning around the empty room.

  
"No...I don't know. Just because you're not doing anything doesn't mean you want to spend the night with me."

  
"You want to spend the night?"

"We don't have to do anything," Jared said quickly. "I wasn't expecting that I just...I wanted to be with you. You seemed so out of sorts when you left tonight, and I wanted to come see you. Just to be close to you, maybe watch a movie together on the couch or in your bed. "

  
"You came over to cuddle?" Jensen asked with a smile.

  
"And snuggle possibly."

  
"You're adorable you know that?" Jensen said pulling Jared down the hallway and into the bedroom. When they got there he pointed at his dresser. "If we're really going to snuggle you change into something more comfortable. You can borrow a pair of my pajamas from the top drawer. I'm going to go throw the gelato in the freezer while you change."

  
When Jensen returned from the kitchen Jared was lounging on his bed in a t shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants. He was flipping through the channels looking for something for them to watch. The domesticity of the sight tugged at Jensen's heart. Jared's eyes lit up when he saw Jensen.

  
"Did you bring the popcorn?" Jared asked, looking like an excited puppy.

  
"I had a feeling you bought that more for yourself than me," Jensen laughed.

  
Jensen set the popcorn down on the end table next to Jared with a bottle of water. He ran his hand gently over Jared's back before coming to sit next to him on the bed.

  
"So what did you find for us to watch?"

  
"The Wedding Singer," Jared replied, settling himself back against the pillows.

  
"I love this movie," Jensen said.

  
Jensen laid back next to Jared and felt the larger man wrapping himself around him. He was used to being the big spoon, but given Jared's size, it wasn't out of the question to play the role of little spoon, and he had to admit that Jared's arms felt nice. He looked up at the other man who was looking back at him as if to ask if this was alright. Jensen just smiled and rested his head back against Jared's broad chest. Jared kissed the top of his head and relaxed to watch the movie.

  
They stayed like that for the duration of the movie, shifting every so often only to eat popcorn or sip water. When the movie ended Jared was reluctant to move or let Jensen up. He knew they should probably talk about tonight, but he didn't want to spoil the moment.

  
"Are you ok Jen?" Jared asked, lightly drawing circles on Jensen's back.

  
"Yeah I'm fine."

  
"You don't have to lie to me you know."

  
Jensen shifted against Jared's chest. "It was just hard seeing Jeff tonight. Being judged by him, both literally and figuratively. It's like I know in my head that I don't have anything to prove to him, but I still let him get to me."

  
"I think it's normal to react that way to seeing someone you were in a relationship with."

  
"But it wasn't even a **real** relationship. He made that abundantly clear," Jensen pointed out.

  
"Maybe you weren't **in** a relationship, but you still had a relationship with him, whether he admits that or not. When you're intimate with someone you create a connection and it's natural to care about what they think. And I think it makes sense, especially this soon after that you'd still be a little tender about the whole thing," Jared said.

  
Jensen shook his head. "I just feel so stupid about it sometimes. Like I can't believe I let him hurt me like that."

  
"Can I ask you a kind of personal question?"

  
Jensen lifted his head and turned to look up. "Jared you can ask me anything."

  
"You remember that conversation we had where I asked if you liked to top and you said you didn't want to be the type of guy that just assumes that everyone will bottom for you?"

  
"Yeah."

  
"Was that how it was with Jeff?"

  
Jensen nodded. "Yeah. I always bottomed, no discussion. And yes, I still...enjoyed myself, but looking back that should have been a red flag. He never asked me what I wanted, and honestly I was so caught up in him and the excitement of everything that I never really pushed it. But it was always more about him just taking what he wanted, which he reminded me of tonight."

  
Jared tensed around Jensen. "Did he say something to you?"

  
"He came up to me after the show."

  
"What did he say to you?" Jared asked, beginning to get worked up.

  
"Nothing really. Just some stuff about how he wanted me to come back to his room. He got a little grabby, then Danni showed up."

  
"He touched you?!" Jared exclaimed.

  
Jensen sat up and put his hands on the other man. "Calm down Jared, it's not a big deal."

  
"Obviously it is if it upset you this much!" Jared paused, trying to figure out how to word his next question without overreacting. "Jensen I'm only going to ask this once, and I want you to tell me the truth. Did Jeff ever hurt you...physically?"

  
Jensen didn't say anything for a minute and looked down. "Jeff can be pretty rough. He did get a little out of control a few times, but I don't think it was intentional. I mean he never hit me or anything."

  
"Did you like it?"

  
"Some things were ok to a point, but no, I don't really like it as rough as he does... or did."

  
"So why did you keep doing it?"

  
"I guess I wanted to keep him happy," Jensen replied flatly.

  
"Did you love him?" Jared asked tentatively.

  
"No. I don't think I've ever really loved anything. Except dance. I mean, I love my friends and I love my family, but I don't think I've ever loved anything, anyone, like that. I've had times where I've been enamored by someone like Jeff but, it never worked out well. "

  
"I think I love you," Jared said quietly. "You don't have to say anything. I know you probably think that I'm rushing into things because it's my first relationship with another man and I'm getting swept up in it. But I just...wanted you to know I guess."

  
Jensen smiled at Jared and gave him a small kiss. "I'm not gonna tell you that your feelings aren't justified or real, but I know how easy it is to get caught up in the excitement and passion of a new romance. I care about you a lot Jay, please don't think that I don't. I just want to make certain that you're really sure about this. For your sake and mine. I don't think I could deal with losing you."

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm not going anywhere," Jared replied before kissing Jensen again. "Except maybe to go get that gelato. I want to see what the big deal is. I'll be right back."

Jensen laid back against the pillows and waited for Jared to return with the dessert.  _I'm so in love with him. Now it's just a matter of telling him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So funny coincidence, this week on Dancing with the Stars there actually was a segment where two male dancers danced together, and I squealed thinking of this whole story. For anyone who has never seen a Paso Doble, it's one of my favorite dances, I suggest you check one out on Youtube. Derek Hough choreographed one to "Centuries" a few season's ago and it's pretty great.


	9. Week 9: Rumba and Freestyle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final week of competition begins and the boys compete in the first round of the finals. They have two dances to learn adding to the stress of the competition, as well as their relationship.

_**Week 9/ Night One: Rumba and Freestyle** _

  
As their final week of competition began, Jared and Jensen were feeling pretty good. Getting into the finals had given Jared a boost of confidence in his dancing, and their conversation the night of the last live show had given Jensen a little more confidence in their relationship. The producers were looking for a lot of behind the scenes footage for the finale, so they had given the couples their own cameras to film some highlights, and Jared in particular was having a ball playing cameraman.

  
"So Jensen, can you believe this is our last week?" Jared asked, focusing the camera on his partner.

  
"It seems like it's gone by way too quickly, but it's here and we have two dances this week," Jensen said.

  
"Four dances! Because there's two nights of competition."

  
"Let's take this one step at a time Jared. We need to make it through the first night of competition, and then we'll talk about those other dances."

  
Jared turned the camera on himself, "He's so modest. He knows we'll move on."

  
Jensen rolled his eyes. "We have two dances this week. We have our Freestyle dance, which I'm sure you're going to love. I think it's going to end up a lot like our Contemporary. So yes...no shoes."

  
Jared pumped his fist in excitement. "And what's the other dance?"

  
"The other one is our Judge's Pick, where they pick a dance they'd like to see you do."

  
"What did they pick?"

  
"The Rumba," Jensen said with a smile.

  
Jared nudged Jensen's knee. "Ahhh that's why you're so happy. You get to Rumba with me."

  
"Yep. And I will erase any memory that you ever did the Rumba with anyone else."

  
"What songs are we using?"

  
"I thought I'd let you choose the Contemporary, and I'll choose the Rumba, deal?"

  
"Deal."

  
Jared set down the camera."Jensen? I know you don't want me to count our chickens and stuff, but what happens if we make it to the second night?"

  
"If we make it past the first night of competition, we'll compete the second night where we will redo a dance we've already done that the judges choose to see if we can score better. Most likely they'd pick our Jive. And we would also be given a 24 hour Fusion dance where we have basically one day to choreograph and learn a routine that's a mixture of two dance styles."

  
Jared cocked his head. "That sounds hard."

  
"It is. I've never gotten to that point but I helped Danni with hers, and it's a nightmare depending on what styles you get." Jensen took in the concern on his partner's face. "We'll be fine though."

  
"I hope so," Jared said looking down.

  
Jensen noticed the sudden flip in Jared's mood and put a hand on his knee. "Hey, why don't we break for today," he said.

  
"But we've barely done anything. We haven't even picked our songs yet," Jared pointed out.

  
"I know, but I can already see you slipping back into that headspace from the first couple weeks. So I think we need a field trip," Jensen said pulling Jared up.

 

About an hour later the pair was pulling into a nearby marina. They got out of Jensen's car and he led Jared to a boat called _The Auburn Lady_.

  
"I didn't know you had a boat," Jared said.

  
"I don't. I want one, but this one belongs to Chris. He's letting us take it out on the condition that I guard it with my life and we don't have sex on it."

  
"But I've never had sex on a boat before," Jared said giving Jensen his puppy dog eyes.

  
"Well sorry to burst your bubble but you won't be losing your high seas virginity today."

  
"Are you sure? I really think it would help me focus."

  
Jensen laughed and shook his head. "Come on."

  
Jensen climbed aboard the boat and held out his hand to help Jared up. He went below deck to put away a few things he brought and then came back . He waited for the other man to get settled before starting the motor and directing the boat out of the marina. They cruised around for about an hour until Jensen pulled into a little inlet and shut the engine off.

  
"Where are we?" Jared asked.

  
"This is one of my favorite places. And it's a great place to see a sunset."

  
Jensen went below deck and came back with a couple beers and the picnic basket he'd packed with sandwiches and salads. They ate and drank in relative silence just enjoying the feeling of relaxation and being together. When they finished Jared cleaned up and took their dishes back below deck.

  
"Is this the kind of boat you want?" Jared asked, climbing up the stairs.

  
"I always wanted a sail boat actually, but the power boat is nice if you want to go water skiing or something."

  
"I love water skiing. We should go sometime, after the season wraps," Jared suggested.

  
_He's making plans for the future, that has to be a good sign. Maybe he won't leave me as soon as this is all over_ , Jensen thought.

  
Jared's voice interrupted his thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

  
"You," Jensen answered honestly.

  
"Anything in particular about me?" Jared teased.

  
"Just how lucky I was to get you as a partner. When they approached me about having another man as my partner I was really nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I was afraid I was going to get some young kid who wouldn't take it seriously, or worse someone with a chip on his shoulder who would refuse to be open minded and just sabotage everything I did. And instead I got you."

  
"My shoulder isn't exactly chip free," Jared pointed out.

  
"I'm serious. I expected to be out the first week, and instead I'm going into the finals with a partner who I lo..," Jensen stopped himself before the word could come out and looked down. "You're everything I could have asked for and more."

  
Jared leaned over and gave Jensen a kiss. "I think it's funny how you think **you're** the lucky one. I'm just as lucky if not more to have found you. You inspired me pursue things I was afraid of before and you made me confident in myself again. I owe you a lot." Jared paused and cupped Jensen's face in his hands. "I'm gonna get you that trophy Jen. Now let's watch this sunset."

  
They moved back to the stern of the boat and sat with their feet dangling off the edge. Jensen put his arm around Jared's waist and the younger man melted into him resting his head against Jensen.

  
_If there was ever a moment where I wanted to freeze time. This would be it,_ Jensen thought, kissing Jared's head.

 

Jensen had dropped Jared off at the studio after their outing making him promise that he'd have a song chosen by their next rehearsal. When they met up two days later he was excited to see what Jared had picked, and eager to show off his selection as well.

  
"So what song did you pick for the Freestyle?" Jensen asked.

  
"I'm going to play it for you. It's called "I Am Human" by Brian Buckley Band."

  
Jared put the song on and sat back down next to Jensen. They sat and listened intently to the music. The song was about how as humans we aren't perfect, and inevitably will make mistakes and fail sometimes. Jensen was nodding his head along with the music, a routine already forming in his head.

  
"I really like the song Jared," Jensen said when the song finished. "I think I have some good ideas. I have to ask though, how do you feel about doing a lift?"

  
"Me lifting you?"

  
"Yeah. You're really strong, and it's not something that we've really gotten to explore. Had you been paired with a woman you'd have been doing lifts left and right, but I've kind of shied away from it. I think it could be really effective in this dance though and could help highlight your strengths."

  
"You'd trust me not to drop you?" Jared asked.

  
Jensen nodded. "Yeah I trust you."

  
"Then let's go for it. This is the time to pull out all of the stops right?"

  
"That's true. And I have a few more tricks I think I'd like to thrown in there if you're game."

  
"Jensen, I'm down for whatever you want to do. And I mean...whatever," Jared said with a wink.

  
Jensen smiled and rolled his eyes. "Ohhh the judges knew exactly what they were doing giving you another chance to Rumba."

  
Jared laughed. "I'm a sensual guy, I can't help it. Especially when I have such a tempting partner. Now what song **did** you pick for our Rumba?" Jared asked.

  
"I think you'll like it. "Latch", by Sam Smith."

  
"I do like that song. Which dance are we going to learn first?"

  
"I think the Freestyle is going to take more time, so let's start with the Rumba. I basically blocked it out last night, but now that I have you here I can already see some things I want to change."

  
Jensen put on the music and roughly ran through what he'd come up with. It looked a little strange without a partner of course, but then he grabbed Jared and began teaching him the moves. Once he seemed to have a good understanding of the steps, Jensen began pushing his partner to convey the emotional connection. The Rumba was just as much about chemistry as it was about proper movement.

  
"This is supposed to be romantic, so act like you like me," Jensen said putting his arm around Jared's waist and pulling him tighter.

  
"Like you? It's going to be torture for me to not kiss you during the dance. The way you're rubbing against me I'll be lucky if all of America can't see just how much I like you," Jared said softly, nuzzling into Jensen's neck.

  
Jensen laughed. "Easy there tiger. Why don't we take a water break? Maybe spray you down out back with the hose."

  
"Hey I can't help it that you've been teasing me all afternoon," Jared laughed, wrapping his arms around Jensen.

  
"I have not been teasing you. I've just been trying to teach you how to rumba. If anything I'm the innocent victim here," Jensen said trying to wiggle out of Jared's arms.

  
"Oh yeah?" Jared said tickling Jensen's ribs.

  
The tickling turned into wrestling and soon the two men were on the floor fighting for dominance. Jared had just gained the upper-hand when they were interrupted by the sound of Jared's phone ringing. He gave Jensen a squeeze and got up to answer it. Jensen watched him, trying not to eavesdrop on the conversation but failing. Since he could only hear one side of the conversation he was eager for it to be over so he could find out what was going on.

  
"Hello? Yes this is Jared. Yeah. Ok. That's great. Thank you. Thank you so much."

  
"Who was that?" Jensen asked.

  
"That was the director of the movie I auditioned for a few weeks ago. I got the part!"

  
Jensen pulled Jared in for a hug. "That's great Jay! I'm happy for you."

  
"We start prepping and filming in two weeks."

  
"Two weeks? That's...soon."

  
"Yeah I guess they have some kind of deadline for festival season. So I'll have to leave for New York like next week."

  
"Wait, it's filming in New York?" Jensen asked, his heart sinking.

  
"I thought I mentioned that."

  
"No. I should have figured since that's where the audition was, I just...how long will you be there?"

  
"A few months. Two at least, maybe three."

  
"Three months?" Jensen repeated in an incredibly small voice.

  
"Jensen are you worried?" Jared asked. He gently tipped Jensen's face up to look at him. "Hey. You have nothing to be worried about ok?"

  
"I'm just going to miss you that's all."

  
"Aw baby I'm going to miss you too. But we'll talk every day. We can even have Skype sex."

  
Jensen wrinkled his nose. "Skype sex?"

  
"Yeah, it's like phone sex except I can see you. And you'll be able to see me when I'm...showing you how much I miss you."

  
"Well it does sound more appealing when you put it like that," Jensen replied. "Let's go get some lunch so we can get back to working on our winning routines ok?"

"Aye Aye Captain!"

 

 

They had worked overtime all week perfecting their two dances and the night of the first part of the finale they were ready to show America their best. All three of the remaining couples were excited for the final nights of competition and were in a great mood, joking around backstage with one another and the troupe dancers. Jared and Jensen were sitting next to each other on one of the couches squeezed close enough that their legs were touching. Jared was whispering something something in his ear and making him laugh when Genevieve and Danneel came over.

  
"You two are so cute it's kind of sickening sometimes," Danneel said.

  
"It would be just my luck that the two decent, good looking guys in LA would be interested in each other," Gen added.

  
"Well Gen we're both originally from Texas, so maybe you're fishing in the wrong pond?"

  
"Or using the wrong bait," Danneel said.

  
"Enough with the fish analogy. Jared do you have a brother?"

  
Jared laughed, "I do actually. But he's married. If you want I can hook you up with my friend Chad."

  
"Really?" Gen asked.

  
"No, I wouldn't do that to you. You're too nice a girl. Not that Chad's not nice. He's great. He just...he's Chad. He could use someone to rein him in."

  
"Don't worry Gen, you'll find someone," Jensen said.

  
"Yeah maybe next season I'll fall in love with **my** partner," Gen teased.

  
Jensen mumbled something and ducked his head.

  
"Awww look at him blush!" Danneel said pointing at him.

  
Jared put his arm around Jensen and the other man buried his face in his shoulder. After a minute or so when the laughing had died down, Danneel pried him off to take a few selfies. Jared took out his phone to snap a photo of the four of them to post to Twitter. After he posted it he noticed that he had a text from Chad.

  
**Chad:** Just wanted to wish you luck tonight and all that shit. I'm going to be in the audience, so make sure you don't fuck up. And come find me after because I want to meet this hot boy toy of yours. I promised Mama P I'd check him out for her.

  
Jared laughed as he read the message. "Chad's ears must be ringing. He's in the audience. He sent me a very supportive and motivational text."

  
Jensen read the message and scowled. "You call that supportive?"

  
"For Chad that's pretty good."

  
Jensen huffed. "And he's your **best** friend. Well, at least he called me hot."

  
"Chad typically has terrible taste," Jared teased.

  
"Hey now, you keep talking like that and I'm gonna start to get a complex. And we're about to do a very sensual Rumba. You don't want to jeopardize your scores now do you?"

  
"Aw you know I didn't mean it. Com'mere you sexy thing," Jared said trying to pull Jensen to him.

  
"Hmmph. We're up next. You're going to have to save your fondling of me for the dance floor," Jensen said walking toward the stage.

  
Jared followed quickly behind and deftly smacked Jensen on the butt, earning what could have passed for a giggle from the other man. They took the floor for their dance and as the music started Jared looked at Jensen who gave him a wink. The music started and they crossed to each other to meet in the middle of the floor. As they met, Jensen reached up and touched Jared's face before turning his back to him. He put his arms out to the side and Jared reached out with his hands, bringing Jensen's back against him. He turned Jensen around and then slowly dipped him, bringing him back up against his chest. He could feel Jensen's heart beating fast and he gave him a little squeeze. They continued the rest of the dance, making sure to keep all of their movements fluid and arms fully extended. When it ended they were fully wrapped up in each other so they didn't have to move far for a hug. Jensen felt Jared discreetly press a kiss to his shoulder before they pulled apart.

  
Richard was waving to them excitedly as they came over to him and the judges. "Great job as usual boys. Let's see what the judges thought. Let's start with head judge Mark Sheppard."

"I didn't know what to expect honestly from two men doing the Rumba. But I'll tell you what, I was impressed. It didn't look like two men, it just looked like two dancers. There were some moments that could have used a little more finesse for my taste, but overall it was a great job."

"And continuing on, let's hear from Sebastian."

"Hot hot hot my darling. You are truly a leading man, and it shows on the dance floor. You really know how to command a room when you perform. And it goes without saying, but I'm not complaining about the open shirt as a costume choice. You either Jensen! Holy six packs!" Sebastian exclaimed.

  
Alaina had to wait for the crowd to stop laughing and whistling before she could begin. "Jared I'm really glad that we got to see this dance from you. I loved your Rumba before, but it was lacking something for me. This one seemed to have a lot more personal. Yes it had steam and sex appeal too, but there was something underneath, more emotion. I thought it was great."

" Sounds like some pretty high scores! Head on up to Felicia and we'll find out just how high," Richard said.

They hurried up to the balcony to where Felicia was waiting, microphone already poised for a question.

  
"Jared, how was it different doing the Rumba with Jensen in comparison to when you danced with Sandy?"

  
Jared snuck a quick glance at Jensen "I feel like there was more substance to this dance. Like Alaina said, there was more emotion."

  
"Why do you think that was?" Felicia asked

  
"I'm definitely more personally invested in these dances. We're getting down to the wire and these are final hurdles standing in between us and the trophy. I'm going to do whatever it takes to win," Jared said.

  
"Alright let's get your scores. Alaina Huffman, 10. Sebastian Roche,10. And Mark Sheppard, 9. A total of 29! Almost perfect score! What do you have to say to that?" Felicia asked

  
"We are certainly thankful. We worked really hard and I'm glad that they liked it," Jared replied.

  
"Hopefully they like our second dance just as much," Jensen added.

  
"I'm sure they will. Now remember America, if these are your champions, Jared and Jensen will need your votes if they make it through until tomorrow night's finale!"  
As they cut to commercial Jared and Jensen went to one of the lounge areas to relax for a few minutes. The other dancers came over and congratulated them on their performance, and both men were feeling pretty confident. They ran through some of the more difficult moves the best they could backstage until it was time for their second dance.

As they stepped to the middle of the floor Jared grinned at Jensen. He was really excited for this dance, probably more so than any other dance in the season. But he was also really nervous because he knew the pressure was on and with the lift and some of the other moves there was a lot of potential for mistakes. Once the music began, Jared was so engrossed in the dance that he forgot to be nervous. When it came time for the lift he felt his nerves creeping back in, but he realized that he'd rather die than let Jensen get hurt, and there was no way he was going to drop him. He lifted Jensen over his head until his arms were fully extended. He held him there for several moments before pushing him up. He caught Jensen and they had another moment in the hold before he set him back down on the ground. With the most difficult move done, Jared felt elated and finished the dance with no problem. They ended the routine close together with their foreheads touching.

  
As the music ended and the applause began, Jared broke into a huge grin which could only be matched by the smile on Jensen's face. He was practically beaming at Jared with tears in his eyes.

  
"I'm so fucking proud of you Jay," he whispered in Jared's ear.

  
"I'm proud of both of us. Let's go get our tens," Jared said pushing Jensen over to the judges.

  
Richard gave both men a hug when they came over. "Guys, I have to say that was amazing. If I could score I'd give you a twelve. But until that day comes, you'll have to settle for what these people give you. Let's start with Alaina Huffman, who it appears is crying, actually for the first time this season, that's a record."

  
"Oh shut up. Just give me just a minute," Alaina said wiping her eyes. "That was beautiful. You know to me dance is like art, and you just performed something that can only be described as living, moving art. The depth of emotion and movement was just stunning. I could literally go on all night."

  
"We only have a two hour time slot," Richard interrupted. The crowd laughed,and he motioned for Sebastian to continue.

  
"A masterpiece. Simply gorgeous. The way the two of you have learned to move together so cohesively is a feat in itself and it was really showcased in that dance. I think it is one of the best dances I have seen in any season."

  
As Sebastian finished, Mark stood up slowly and clapped his hands. "Well done Jared. That is the kind of thing I've been waiting for all season. Jensen, your choreography was spot on, and you did well to not only play to Jared's strengths but also push the limit on them. You've shown from the beginning that you have the heart of a champion and now you're showing that you have the skills to match. Well done."

  
Jared had been squeezing Jensen's hand harder with each positive comment, and when they finished he gave him another hug. They thanked the judges and went back up to Felicia for their scores. Jensen was tackled for hugs by Danni and Matt, and Osric jumped into Jared's arms. Once they were able to extricate themselves they sidled over to Felicia.

  
"Incredible job guys! So Jared, standing ovation from Mark, you made Alaina cry, you've got to be feeling pretty good right?"

  
"I do, I feel really good. You know this whole experience has been incredible. I don't think I could even begin to explain what it's meant to me. When I first was approached about doing the show, I was a little bit wary, and my buddy Chad, who is in the audience tonight, said to me 'What's the worst that can happen? You make a fool out of yourself and you're out the first week. Big deal, then you know you're not meant to be a dancer and maybe you can try your luck on Celebrity Apprentice." The audience laughed and Jared continued. "In all seriousness, it was actually pretty good advice and I think it gave me the final push I needed to do this. So thank you Chad."

  
"Yes, thank you Chad," Felicia echoed. "Jensen, this is the farthest that you've made it in the competition, so congratulations to you as well. Nine weeks is a long time, are you tired of this guy yet?"

  
Jensen smiled and put his arm around Jared. "Nah, I'd do twenty more weeks with this one."

  
"And we'd love to watch! Now let's get your scores. Alaina Huffman, 10! Sebastian Roche, 10! And Mark Sheppard...10! A perfect 30 for Jared and Jensen! But who will be moving on to the finale? We'll find out after Jason and Danneel dance their Freestyle, and a live performance from Rob Benedict and his band Louden Swain. So stay tuned America!"

  
They cut to commercial and the two men moved to the balcony to watch the rest of the show. Jensen stood close to Jared running his hand gently up and down his back, trying to make sure he stayed calm, even though he was in knots himself.

  
"Are you nervous?" Jared asked, apparently reading Jensen's mind.

  
"I'm not...yeah. I know there's nothing we can do at this point, we did our best, and it was great. But I'm still a little nervous. I want you to win. I want us to make it to the end."

  
"Even if we don't, I'm happy. Our Freestyle was amazing, and I'm grateful that we got this far," Jared said. "But the trophy still would be nice."

  
Jensen laughed. "Yeah the trophy would be nice."

  
One of the stage managers motioned to them that it was time to take the floor for the final elimination. The three couples stood with Richard and Felicia in the spotlights. Jared tried to keep a smile on his face but he felt himself shaking as Richard began to speak.

  
"It's been an amazing season and an even more amazing night. All three couples did an incredible job and earned near perfect scores. But who will be moving on to tomorrow night's season finale?" Richard paused. "Without further ado, the first couple competing tomorrow night in our finale is...Kim and Misha!"

  
Everyone exchanged hugs and the two remaining couples settled back to await their fate. Jensen knew it would be bittersweet if Danneel moved on, and he'd be happy for his friend, but he had to admit that he really wanted this for Jared, and for himself. He put his arm around Jared's waist and felt the other man relax against him.  
"Jason and Danneel. Jason you've been pretty consistent all season, excelling in your Samba the second week, the judges said you might be the one to beat. Did America agree with that assessment? Jared and Jensen. Jared, arguably the most improved in the competition, you had an almost perfect night tonight and glowing praise from our judges, but was it enough for you to make it to tomorrow night?"

  
Jensen tightened his grip on Jared as Richard continued to read the results.

  
"And the couple moving on to tomorrow's finale is...both of you! We decided that all **three** of our couples will be dancing in the finals so congratulations Kim and Misha, Jason and Danneel, and Jared and Jensen!"

  
The crowd erupted into thunderous applause and Jared enveloped Jensen in a tight hug.

  
"We did it baby!" Jared said into his ear.

  
"We did," Jensen said squeezing back.

 

After the show they headed to the dressing room to get their bags. As soon as they walked into the empty room Jared grabbed Jensen and pulled him in for a kiss. Jensen deepened the the kiss and soon was pressing Jared against one of the walls, his knee between Jared's legs rocking into him. They were so involved with each other that neither of them heard someone come into the room.

  
"Hoooo! Guess I should have knocked," Chad said covering his eyes.

  
"Chad!" Jared exclaimed, moving out from under Jensen.

  
Jensen turned to face Chad, wiping his mouth. He stuck out his other hand to the other man. "Hey man, I'm Jensen."

  
"Chad. Is that uh... **typical** for your rehearsals?" Chad asked.

  
"I think it helps keeps Jared more productive," Jensen replied.

 

  
"Orgasms **are** an amazing motivator," Chad replied solemnly.

  
"So this is where you get it from," Jensen said looking at Jared.

  
"He's a terrible influence," Jared said.

  
"Hey! If I hadn't convinced you to do the show, you never would have met your little love monkey, so I don't wanna hear it!" Chad protested.

  
"He's right. I owe you big buddy. How can I ever repay you?" Jared asked sarcastically.

  
Chad snickered. "Oh believe me, I have a whole list of things you could do for me. Starting with drinking with me. So grab your and hotlips' bags and let's go!"

 

 

Chad insisted that they come with him for at least one drink, despite Jensen's protests that they had to rehearse. After they promised him they would set him up with a hot pro dancer, he allowed them to leave and they headed over to the rehearsal studio to work on their fusion dance. They'd been given a Cha-Cha/Tango fusion and Jensen was already buzzing with ideas. They started by running through their Jive routine a few times, making sure it was still fresh in their minds. Then Jensen started working on their fusion dance. He'd picked "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon as the song for their final dance and was moving along to the song walking out a routine when Jared came up behind him and started kissing his neck.

  
"We only have 24 hours to learn this dance Jared. That's not a lot of time," Jensen said trying to wriggle away.

  
"But there's always time for kissing," Jared said pulling Jensen to him.

  
"Tell you what. If you can give me complete focus and learn this dance in say three hours, we can take a break go back to my place and..."

  
"And fuck?" Jared interrupted.

  
"So romantic Jay," Jensen laughed. "I'm going to do all the things I promised you before, get you begging and squirming for me. Kiss you for hours, or however long it takes for me to cover every inch of you in my marks. It's going to be a lot more than fucking sweetheart."

  
Jared looked down at the erection that was forming in his jeans. "How can you say that shit to me and then expect me to focus on dancing?"

  
"I'm sure you'll figure something out. Just picture Mark telling you to get it together. Or Sebastian hitting on you. Chad in a speedo."

  
"Hmmm that **is** helping," Jared laughed.

  
"Let's get to work then," Jensen said smacking Jared on the butt.

  
Jared sighed, but got ready to buckle down. He was going to get this dance learned in record time if it killed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost over. But not yet. Sexy times in the next chapter I promise. If you're interested in how I pictured these dances going, I imagined the Rumba kind of like Mark Ballas and Alexa PenaVega's from DWTS two seasons ago. The Freestyle was inspired by the best Freestyle and best dance I have ever seen on DWTS, which was Meryl and Maks. They actually danced to Latch, which is the song Jared and Jensen do their Rumba to. The song they dance their Freestyle to is also a great song, if you've never heard it, check out the video, Jared and Gen are in it, and it's beautiful. Thanks again for reading and sticking with me. I have a few oneshots that are about done and will be posted probably within the week, so if you wanna give those a read as well, I wouldn't hate you for it.


	10. Week 9: Night 2/The Finale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last full chapter, epilogue and playlist will be up either tonight or tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who has read and supported this throughout the writing process.

Several grueling hours after arriving at the studio and working hard to learn their new dance, Jared and Jensen ended their rehearsal and went back to Jensen's as promised. He had barely unlocked the door when Jared was on him.

"Hey wait, wait," Jensen said gently pushing Jared away.

"What's wrong?"

"I just want to...give me a minute ok?"

Jared looked at him strangely. "Ok."

  
Jensen quickly went into his room and shut the door. Jared went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He noted that there was a bottle of champagne chilling inside and pulled it out. He found two glasses in the cabinet and poured a drink for the two of them. He waited until he he heard Jensen call him and he walked down the hall with the glasses in hand. He pushed open the door and saw Jensen sitting on the bed. He had lit several candles around the room and turned down the lights so the candles could cast a soft glow around the room. There was music playing quietly from the stereo on the wall.

  
"Jen, what is all this?" Jared asked.

  
"I wanted your...our first time to be special," Jensen said sheepishly.

  
"Awww baby." Jared's heart swelled with affection for the other man. He noticed for the first time that the room smelled delicious.

  
"What's that smell?" Jared asked.

  
"It's a linen spray. It's got ylang-ylang in it. It's supposed to be romantic."

  
Jared sat down and handed Jensen one of the glasses of champagne. He kissed the other man's cheek and nosed into his neck. "Smells good."

  
"Are we toasting?" Jensen asked.

  
"Yes. To making it into the finals...together," Jared said raising his glass.

  
"To us," Jensen echoed. He raised his glass and clinked it against Jared's.

  
They sipped their champagne and then Jared took Jensen's glass and set it on the table with his own glass. He took Jensen's face in his hands and kissed him softly. The kiss intensified and soon he was pressing Jensen down onto the bed. They continued making out and rutting against each other, and Jared was transported back to the first time they had been intimate together. He felt his erection straining against his jeans.

  
Jared pulled away panting. "Too many clothes."

  
Jensen chuckled and started shucking off his clothes. Jared did the same and soon he found himself naked underneath Jensen.

  
"So beautiful darlin'. God, I just want to touch every inch of you," Jensen breathed, leaning in to kiss Jared.

  
Jensen kissed Jared's lips and moved to his neck. He moved his way down the other man's chest, kissing, sucking, and biting. "So hot. So perfect. I'm so lucky," Jensen murmered between kisses. He noticed that Jared had been relatively quiet and began to worry.

  
Jensen pulled back and sat up. "You'd tell me if you weren't ok with something we were doing right?"

  
"Like what?"

  
Jensen shrugged. "Anything. Like I know I talk a lot, some people aren't into that."

  
Jared gestured to his leaking erection. "Jensen, I'm pretty on board with the dirty talk."

  
"So you are. So wet for me sweetheart. Love how excited you get," Jensen said stroking Jared's cock teasingly.

  
"I want you Jen. I want you inside me."

  
"Then we have to get you ready baby boy," Jensen said moving his way down in between Jared's legs. He put his hands under Jared's legs and lifted them slightly.

  
"What are you doing?" Jared asked as he felt a puff of air on his entrance.

  
"I promised I was going to open you up slow didn't I?"

  
"But like...that?"

  
Jensen chuckled. "Trust me."

  
Jensen's tongue swiped over Jared's hole for the first time, earning a small moan from the younger man. Jensen smiled and did it again, slowly circling around the tight ring of muscle. He could tell that Jared was really enjoying it and made a mental note to spend a whole night rimming him at a later date. He spread Jared's cheeks open more and pointed his tongue, thrusting it into Jared's hole. After several minutes of this Jared was writhing and clenching the sheets.

  
"More," Jared managed to groan out.

  
"You're ready for more sweetheart?"

  
Jensen grabbed a bottle of lube and poured some on his fingers. He slid one finger into Jared, watching his face for a reaction. He didn't notice any real discomfort from the other man and began moving his finger in and out. He added his tongue back into the mix, working it in tandem with his finger. He added a second finger and felt Jared beginning to tense up.

  
"Relax baby. Gotta let me in," Jensen cooed.

  
He began slowly scissoring his fingers inside Jared feeling him loosening up. He stroked Jared's cock gently, giving him another sensation to distract from any pain. When he felt Jared starting to push back against his fingers he added a third.

  
"You look so fucking pretty opening up for me. Can't wait to be inside you."

  
"Jensen. I need you in me now."

  
"Are you sure you're ready?" Jensen asked.

  
"Are you this cautious with everyone you have sex with?" Jared asked breathlessly.

  
"No, just you," Jensen answered before pausing. "You're special Jared. I just want to make sure your first time is perfect."

  
"You're such a sap!" Jared laughed.

  
"And you're a little punk," Jensen muttered grabbing the lube and a condom.

  
Jared stopped him before he opened the foil. "You don't have to use that if you don't want."

  
"Are you sure?"

  
Jared smacked his chest gently. "Stop asking if I'm sure! I want you to put your dick in me, and I want to feel it bare. And yes I'm positive!"

  
"You're sleeping in the wet spot," Jensen chuckled and spooned up behind Jared. He pressed against him, sliding his erection up and down the crease of the other man's ass.

  
"You're going to tell me if I hurt you right?"

  
"Just do it Jen before I shove it in there myself."

  
"Bossy bottom," Jensen muttered.

  
"Jennnnsen," Jared whined.

  
Jensen leaned in and kissed Jared's ear before whispering in it. "I love you."

  
Jared turned his head and looked at Jensen. "I love you too."

  
Jensen pushed inside of Jared slowly, keeping his arm wrapped firmly around him.

  
"Ok?"

  
"Just gimme a minute. Doesn't hurt, just feels...full."

  
Jensen waited until he felt Jared pressing back against him and began moving slowly, leaving gentle kisses on Jared's back and neck to distract him from any discomfort. He reached down and started stroking the other man's cock, earning him a low moan from his partner.

  
"Why did we wait so long to do this?" Jared asked.

  
"I was too busy being an idiot," Jensen replied.

  
"Well I can think of some ways you could make it up to me."

  
"I have a few ideas myself," Jensen said, picking up his pace.

  
Jensen began rocking into Jared harder, pressing his hips forward, trying to get as deep as possible.

  
"Keep talking to me," Jared said.

  
"You want me to tell you how good you feel? Best thing I've ever felt. Can't wait to do this again. Gonna make love to you in every position I can think of. Bend you over the kitchen table. Have you ride me. Up against the wall..."

  
"On the boat?" Jared panted.

  
"Yes! As soon as I get a boat we'll christen it," Jensen said, running his hands over Jared's chest.

  
Ideas of ways to fuck Jared were racing through Jensen's mind and he was finding it hard to hold off on finishing before his partner. He decided to pull out all the stops to ensure Jared's climax. He angled to make sure he was hitting the other man's prostate, and when he cried out he used his free hand to swipe his thumbnail across the head of Jared's cock.

  
"Jensen, I'm close!" Jared groaned.

  
"That's it sweetheart, come for me," Jensen said jerking his hand swiftly on the other man's cock.

  
Jared came with a strangled cry. Jensen pressed kisses to his neck and face, all over his back, continuing to soothe Jared through his climax. A minute or so later he pushed into the other man one last time and came deep inside him. He stayed there for a few moments, pressed against Jared before carefully pulling out. Jared let out a little grumble of protest and rolled over to kiss Jensen who mumbled something about big, cuddly, moose boyfriends.

  
"How am I going to go three months without that?" Jared asked.

  
"Don't remind me. I'm dreading it already."

  
"You're going to visit me aren't you?"

  
"If you want me to," Jensen said quietly.

  
Jared looked up at his boyfriend. "Of course I want you to. When are you gonna realize that I'm not changing my mind about this? I love you Jensen."

  
"I love you too. I've just never been good at the whole relationship thing."

  
"You seem to be doing pretty ok so far," Jared said nuzzling Jensen's neck.

  
Jensen kissed Jared's sweaty forehead. "Mmm I hope you're not trying to get me into round two. We have to get up super early to rehearse. You need to be rested for tomorrow."

  
"I'll drink an extra cup of coffee," Jared argued.

  
Jensen snorted. "Come on. Let's shower and get ready for bed."

  
"Can I blow you in the shower?" Jared asked innocently.

  
"You're incorrigible," Jensen said rolling his eyes.

  
"And you love it."

  
"I do."

 

 

The two men had taken a shower and gone to bed (without Jared blowing his boyfriend in the shower). They woke up early the next morning to work on their routines for the final night of competition. Jensen smiled when he walked into his kitchen and found Jared making them omelettes. He came up behind him, put his arms around him and kissed the back of his neck.

  
"Mmm good morning," Jared said, turning to kiss Jensen.

  
"Good morning. Smells good in here," Jensen said.

  
"It'll be done in a few minutes if you wanna make some coffee."

  
Jensen sat down with his cup of coffee and watched Jared working at the stove. It seemed so natural to see the other man moving around in his kitchen and home and he wished it could be that way forever. He knew Jared had said he didn't need to worry about the months that he was going to be away in New York, but it was still hard for him to imagine what it was going to be like without him.

  
"Here you go," Jared said placing a plate in front of him.

  
Jensen dug in immediately. "This is good. Thanks babe."

  
"Anything for my guy," Jared replied kissing him on the cheek. "So what's the plan for today?"

  
"We finish our breakfast, head to the studio to rehearse for a bit, maybe pick up some lunch on the way in, and then we need to be at the main stage for the finale. Sound good?"

  
"Yeah sounds good. Except one thing."

  
"What's that?" Jensen asked.

  
"I want to have sex again," Jared replied.

  
Jensen chuckled. "Well it's going to have to be a quickie, but I promise I'll make it up to you later."

  
"I'm ok with that. You can make slow sweet love to me after we win that trophy."

  
"You bet your ass I will."

 

 

The rest of their day had gone according to Jensen's plan, minus the addition of mutual handjobs in the shower after their rehearsal. They got to the ballroom for the finale and went immediately into makeup and wardrobe. The beginning of the show passed in a blur. They performed the redo of their jive routine almost seamlessly and scored a 28. The scores left them in high spirits and since it was the finale, all of the other couples were back to perform, wo there was plenty of joking and hanging around backstage. It was almost time for their last performance, their Cha-Cha/Tango Fusion, and Jared and Jensen were walking toward the stage when the two men were approached by Jeff.

  
"Jensen. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Jeff asked.

  
Jensen looked at Jared who was glaring daggers at the older man. He patted him on the arm reassuringly.

  
"It's ok Jay. I'll be right there."

  
Jared walked away leaving Jensen with Jeff.

  
"Make it quick," Jensen said.

  
"I wanted to apologize for the last time we spoke. It was out of line. I was acting a little dominant, I got carried away. You have that effect on me," Jeff paused. "But everything I said was true. I miss you Jensen. I shouldn't have expected you to just hop into bed with me again, but why don't you come over tonight and we can talk about it?"

  
"What about your wife?"

  
"She doesn't have to know. She's going to be so busy with the baby soon that she won't even notice I'm not around."

  
Jensen shook his head in disbelief. "I deserve better," he said quietly.

  
"What?"

  
"I deserve better than being your side piece."

  
Jeff smiled darkly. "You think so?"

  
Jensen nodded. "I do. And so does Jared."

  
"You're with him now?" Jeff sneered.

  
"Yeah I am. And he treats me ten times better than you did, because he's a hundred times the man you'll ever be."

  
Jeff scoffed. "Well enjoy it while it lasts Jenny. Once the novelty of fucking your tight ass wears off I'm sure he'll dump you just like I did."

  
"Actually Jensen fucks me."

  
Jeff and Jensen turned to see Jared standing behind them. He came up behind Jensen and put his arm around his waist and kissed the side of his head.

  
"You were taking too long so I came back," Jared said to Jensen. Then he turned to Jeff. "You really missed out never letting him fuck you. The man is a natural top, nails your sweet spot on every thrust. I'd say you should try it, but if you touch Jensen again, I'll kill you ok?"

  
Jeff muttered something under his breath and walked away. Jensen smiled and turned to Jared. "How are you so perfect?"

  
"Nah, I'm not perfect. But I'm glad you think so, because I think you're pretty great too."

  
"You ready for our final dance?" Jensen asked.

  
"Ready as I'm going to be."

  
"Then let's go show America why we should be their champions," Jensen said taking Jared's hand.

  
They took their places in the middle of the floor and looked at each other. For a minute Jensen got a little choked up thinking about this being the last time they'd dance together. When the music began he had no more time to think about being sad. The minute he touched Jared he felt the same spark he felt the first time they shook hands. The routine was flawless from start to finish, full of little flourishes that Jensen had added in honor of the finale, including a section where Jared slid on his knees toward his partner and a move where he spun Jensen on the floor. When the struck their final pose the crowd's applause was deafening. Jared grabbed Jensen in a hug and dragged him over to Richard.

  
"That was awesome. We're going to get your final judges comments and scores, and after that we will find out who is going to be taking home that trophy!" Richard said. "Let's start with Sebastian Roche."

  
"Another great dance from the two of you. Jared I'm so proud of you my darling. It's a great end to the season. "

  
Richard clapped in agreement. "Thank you Sebastian, next we have Alaina Huffman."

  
Alaina laughed and smacked her hand down on the judges table. "I can't stop smiling! That was so much fun. I'm really sad to see this season be over, but I'm so glad that I got to see you grow as a dancer and in your partnership. Thank you for giving us the gift of getting to watch that."

  
"And finally, head judge Mark Sheppard."

  
"I'm not going to give you another standing ovation," Mark began. "But only because I'm getting old and I don't know if my joints can take all the standing up and sitting down." Everyone laughed and Mark spoke again. "I've told you countless times that I wasn't sure what to expect from you, but let me just say that you have exceeded all expectations that I could have come up with for you."

  
"Thank you all very much. I really appreciate your comments and criticism, and they have helped me tremendously so thank y'all," Jared said.

  
"Let's get those scores then," Richard said. "Sebastian Roche, 10! Alaina Huffman, 10! Mark Sheppard, 10! Another perfect score for Jared and Jensen! What a great way to wrap up your season!"

  
Jensen gave Jared another hug and reached up to whisper in his ear. "Whatever happens, happens ok? You could not have done any better. It's up to fate and America now. But thank you for getting me, and us this far."

  
Jared gave Jensen a look with watery eyes. "I really want to kiss you right now."

  
Jensen smiled. "Later I promise."

  
Richard waved the two of them to the middle of the stage. "Let's get all our couples out here to announce the results."

  
He waited as the three final couples assembled center stage. Everyone had matching nervous smiles, and was holding on to their partner tightly. Even Misha looked on edge, which was quite out of character for him. Felicia made her way to stand next to Rich and he began to speak again.

  
"Jason and Danneel, Jared and Jensen, Kim and Misha, we have combined your judges scores and viewers votes, and we are now ready to share the results. The second runners up of this season of Celebrity Ballroom are...Jason and Danneel!"

  
The crowd cheered and all the couples exchanged hugs. Jensen squeezed Jared's hand. They were so close to the end, and he couldn't believe they had come this far.  
"Without further ado...this season's Celebrity Ballroom champions are...Kim and Misha!"

  
The crowd cheered enthusiastically and everyone piled on the winners for a hug. As they pulled apart, Jared wrapped Jensen in a hug. He pressed his face into Jensen's neck, breathing him in.

  
"Are you disappointed?" Jared asked.

  
Jensen shook his head. "Baby no. I'm proud of us. This is just the beginning."

While Richard was interviewing Kim and Misha, Felicia came over to interview Jared and Jensen.

  
"First off, great season guys. You've been a pleasure to watch," Felicia said after hugging them both.

  
"Thank you."

  
"Jared, it's been said more than once that you have had the most to prove and also that you were the one who came the furthest as a dancer. How do you feel now that it's all come to an end?" Felicia asked.

  
"It's been quite a journey. I've learned a lot about myself. I met some great friends, and I met Jensen. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything," Jared replied putting an arm around Jensen.

  
"Jensen, second place. How does it feel to come this close?" Felicia asked.

  
"I'd say it's safe to say eight was still my lucky season," Jensen said looking at Jared.

  
Felicia smiled at them. "Jared, are you sad that you won't be taking that trophy home with you?"

  
"I've got my trophy right here," Jared replied pulling Jensen close to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Jared and Jensen dance to "Shut up and Dance with Me" by Walk the Moon, obviously is the name of the story, it also the song that Witney Carson and Alfonso Riberio did their 24 hour Fusion dance to, and it was awesome! So for those of you who like watching the videos that inspire the dances, check that one out.
> 
> Other sidenote, I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and it makes me sad to make him the bad guy, but somebody had to do it. I'm working on a few fics now, one of them is another J2 fic, and I guarantee that JDM will return but he's going to be a good guy this time.


	11. Epilogue/Playlist

_**Epilogue: One Year Later** _

  
"Let me take a picture of the love birds of Celebrity Ballroom!" Matt said taking his phone out.

  
"I'll have to go find Rachel then," Misha replied.

  
"She's in the green room with Katie and Gen. But actually I meant these two nerds," Matt said pointing to where Jared and Jensen were standing lost in conversation with each other.

  
"Now that you mention it Misha, you really were the champion of that season. You got the trophy **and** the girl. All Jensen got was Bigfoot over there," Osric chimed in.

  
"I like to think I'd banked up a lot of good karma that finally paid off," Misha said.

  
"Did you just call my boyfriend Bigfoot?" Jensen asked, finally joining the group.

  
"He prefers Sasquatch," Matt said.

  
"Actually I prefer Moose. Or Gigantor," Jared said.

  
"They're not just talking about what's below the waist babe," Jensen said pulling Jared by his belt loops toward him.

  
"Ohhh ok," Jared replied leaning in to kiss his boyfriend.

  
"Hey boys, break it up! You're on next!" Danneel said walking over to them.

  
"Thanks Danni," Jensen said turning to look at her. "Oh my god Danneel! That hickey is ridiculous. Makeup couldn't do a better job of covering that up?"

  
Danneel blushed slightly. "You're one to talk Ackles. Everyone knows the real reason you've been shirtless less this season is because they can't possibly take the time to cover up every mark Jared leaves on you."

  
"There might be some truth to that," Jared admitted.

  
Danneel laughed and walked away to join Alona and Matt for their inbetween performances routine. Jared and Jensen began walking toward the stage as well for their final dance of the season.

  
"I still can't believe you set Danneel up with **Chad** ," Jensen said shaking his head.

  
"I didn't think she'd actually go out with him. **I** can't believe she actually liked him," Jared replied.

  
"Well he worships her, so she likes that."

  
"You ready to Rumba one last time?" Jared asked.

  
"I'm just surprised you didn't say 'let's get ready to Rumbaaa'," Jensen joked.

  
"Hey I was drunk, and that was a hilarious joke," Jared protested.

  
"You're such a cornball," Jensen said shaking his head.

  
As Danneel, Matt and Alona finished, the pair took their places for their Rumba and waited for the music to begin.

  
"Hey Jay," Jensen whispered quietly.

  
"Yeah?"

  
"Will you marry me?"

  
Jared opened his mouth in shock, unable to answer because their song was beginning.

  
"You can answer later!" Jensen shouted over the music.

  
They got through their dance, better than they had in any rehearsal. As the song ended they pulled apart and Jared kissed Jensen on the forehead. Richard congratulated them and sent them up to Felicia to get their scores.

  
"Great job guys. What has this season been like for you compared to your first season together?" Felicia asked.

  
"It's been a lot of fun. I think the redemption idea was great, it really sparked a lot of inspiration and motivation for us, especially the pros. And it's been great to have so many of the former celebrity contestants back," Jensen answered.

  
"I'd also add to that, that being a celebrity who was asked back, it adds a whole other level of pressure, but it's also easier because now you want it twice as bad as before," Jared replied.

  
Felicia laughed. "So I have to ask Jared, what did Jensen say to you before the dance started? You looked a little surprised."

  
Jared started blushing furiously. "He asked me to marry him."

  
"And did you give him an answer?"

  
"Honestly it was pretty unfair of him to spring it on me like that."

  
"I thought if I asked him on national television I'd have a better chance of him saying yes," Jensen joked.

  
"So what's it going to be Jared? We're all dying here!" Felicia exclaimed.

  
"I think the only responsible thing to do would be to wait to see if we win tonight. I mean if I can't count on him to bring me home the trophy, how can I consider starting a family with him?" Jared asked with a wink.

  
"That's fair," Jensen agreed.

  
Felicia shook her head at them. "You know guys, you really should have done this last night, it probably would have gotten you a lot of extra votes. Both for people who want you to win, and people who just feel bad for Jensen now."

  
"Well it's all up to fate now right?" Jensen said slipping his arm around Jared.

  
"It sure is. Let's get your scores and hopefully they'll set you on your way to wedded bliss. From Sebastian Roche, 10, Alaina Huffman,10, and from Mark Sheppard...a 10! A perfect score, but is it enough to send them down the aisle? We'll find out America in a matter of minutes!"

  
They went to commercial and Felicia and Richard took centerstage to prepare for the final elimination and the announcing of the champions.

  
"Let's get our finalists down here. Rachel Miner and Misha Collins, Samantha Smith and Osric Chau, and Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles!" Richard said as the couples all assembled.

  
"In third place, second runner up we have...Samantha and Osric!"

  
The crowd cheered and applauded for them as the two remaining couples stepped forward.

  
"And finally...the winners of our first ever redemption season of Celebrity Ballroom are...Jared and Jensen!"

  
Jared swept Jensen up in a bearhug. He spun him around and then set him down. Jensen grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss. He felt someone tapping him on the shoulder and he waved them away, not wanting to stop kissing Jared. Finally Matt pulled him away from Jared and Richard handed him the trophy. He and Jared lifted the trophy together as the crowd cheered and confetti started raining down.

 

"You were never really considering turning me down were you Jay?" Jensen asked.

  
Jared laughed. "Course not baby. I was a little disappointed that you beat me to it though. I was going to ask you at Chris and Lindy's wedding. We had an elaborate plan for you to catch the bouquet."

  
"I would have killed you."

  
"I know. But it all worked out right?"

  
"Right."

  
"Are you happy Jen?" Jared asked.

  
Jensen took Jared's hand and kissed it. "Happy doesn't even begin to cover it," he said with a smile.

 

_**The End** _

 

 

 

 

 

_**Playlists** _

Jared and Jensen's Songs  
  
1\. Cha Cha- "Moves Like Jagger"- Maroon Five   
2\. Tango- "Scars"- Alesso ft. Ryan Tedder  
3\. Contemporary- "Betterman"- Pearl Jam  
4\. Waltz- "Wings"- Brokeback Mountain Soundtrack  
5. JIve- "Runaway Baby"- Bruno Mars  
6\. Quick Step- "Walking on Sunshine"- Katrina and the Waves  
7\. Paso Doble- "Centuries"- Fall Out Boy  
8\. Freestyle- "I Am Human"- Brian Buckley Band  
9\. Rumba- "Latch"- Sam Smith  
10\. Cha Cha/Tango Fusion- "Shut Up and Dance"- Walk the Moon  
11\. Rumba from Season 2- "Book of Love"- Gavin James

Other songs  
1\. Kim and Jensen's Foxtrot- "All of Me"- John Legend  
2\. Jason and Danneel's Jazz- "Raspberry Beret"- Prince  
3\. Misha and Rachel's Viennese Waltz- "Roses and Violets" - Alexander Jean  
4\. Jared and Sandy's Rumba- "Wicked Game"- James Vincent McMorrow  
5\. Chris's song for Lindy - "Only You"- Joshua Radin  
6\. Jason and Danneel's Salsa from Famous Couples Week as Lucy and Ricky- "Babalu"- Desi Arnez 7\. **I can't believe I forgot this one. The saddest song ever, that Jensen is listening to while sulking. "End of the Road"- Boyz II Men

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over. As usual I'm sad to see the story come to an end, but at the same time I'm relieved to have finished something since I currently have about 5 fics in progress on my computer that I started and abandoned. My next one I'm currently working on is actually a Stucky story, but I am also working on a J2, so stay tuned! Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time and left kudos, and bookmarked, and especially for the sweet comments. They really mean a lot.


End file.
